Tel Aviv, Israel – The Israeli army announced in a statement on Sunday that it had carried out a strike on Hezbollah positions. Locations near Shaqif Castle in southern Lebanon were targeted after “military activity” was detected there.
The statement said that the army “strike Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, including underground facilities. They detected military activity in the Qalaat al-Shaqif area in southern Lebanon.” The Israeli army used this dilapidated castle, located in the Nabatieh area, as its base during its occupation of southern Lebanon (1978-2000).
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israeli fighters carried out a series of “violent” raids. These raids took place on the Ali al-Tahir and al-Dabsha forests in the Nabatieh region.
The agency indicated that the fighters fired “a large number of highly explosive missiles”. These missiles caused a huge explosion that echoed in many areas relatively far from the raid area.
The agency added that the raids caused material damage to many residential homes in Nabatieh Al-Fawqa. The glass of homes and shops was shattered, in addition to cracks in them.
The Lebanese army is deployed in the south of the country. It is also dismantling infrastructure belonging to the Iranian-backed party, with support from the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL).
This is being done under a ceasefire reached last November. It aimed at ending the more than year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The agreement, brokered by the United States, also stipulated that weapons be confined to the legitimate Lebanese forces. Additionally, Israel was to withdraw from points it had penetrated during the conflict.
However, the Hebrew state kept its forces in 5 strategic heights. It continues to launch strikes on an almost daily basis.
On August 5, the Lebanese government tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah. This plan is to be implemented before the end of the year.
In a move that the party was quick to reject, it stipulated that before discussing its arsenal, the Israeli army stop its strikes. They also requested to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon.
