As debate continues in Lebanon over whether weapons should be centralized under state control, the Israeli military has stepped up strikes on Hezbollah-linked targets in southern Lebanon, including bulldozers and excavators that Israel says are used to rebuild the group’s military infrastructure.
Pro-Hezbollah media outlets claim the heavy equipment is being used to clear debris in villages hit by airstrikes, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) argue the machinery is repurposed to restore Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure.
Videos and images of destroyed bulldozers and excavators have spread on Lebanese social media. But the heavy equipment is not the only target: fighters, vehicles, motorcycles and buildings tied to Hezbollah are also being struck. The question being raised is what role the bulldozers play in advancing Hezbollah’s military aims in the region.
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen network, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that “Israeli strikes targeted a hangar for repairing bulldozers between the villages of Ansariyeh and Adloun in southern Lebanon.” Images circulated online showed charred machinery.
The IDF confirmed the strikes, saying in a statement that the "IDF struck a Hezbollah site where engineering equipment was stored that was used to restore the organization and promote terror activity in the Ansariyeh area.” The military said a rocket launcher was also destroyed and added that “the presence of the engineering equipment and the launcher constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
In the first week of September, multiple bulldozers were hit. On September 1, Lebanese media reported that an Israeli drone dropped two bombs on a bulldozer in the village of Yaroun. On the same day, another drone strike reportedly targeted a bulldozer in the village of Rabi’ Thalathin. The following day, the IDF took responsibility for the attacks. Leaflets were dropped in the area reading: “The bulldozer was used to restore underground infrastructure for Hezbollah. There is no economic benefit in shady deals with Hezbollah. Stay away from Hezbollah and its people — they are the ones preventing national recovery.”
Similar incidents were reported in August. On August 3, Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is also affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that an Israeli drone struck a building, a vehicle and a bulldozer near a cemetery in the village of Kila. Later that day, Lebanese outlets reported another bulldozer strike in Yaroun. On August 5, media reported that a bomb hit a bulldozer in the village of Shebaa, again with leaflets dropped afterward. In Meiss al-Jabal, a bulldozer said to be clearing rubble was hit. Three days later, on August 8, another bulldozer said to be removing destroyed homes was struck in the village of Aitaroun. Similar attacks were reported August 12, and again on August 14, 16, 20, 21 and 22.
Hezbollah-linked outlets in Lebanon accuse Israel of deliberately striking civilian tools and sites. But Israeli officials insist the military is targeting assets that directly assist Hezbollah’s reconstruction efforts.
Orna Mizrahi, former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council and now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, said: “On the surface these look like innocent civilian work tools, but Hezbollah today is very focused on rebuilding its infrastructure and its presence in southern Lebanon.
“These tools ultimately serve Hezbollah’s needs,” Mizrahi added. “Over the years Hezbollah has used civilian facilities in these areas for its own purposes. Rebuilding Hezbollah’s infrastructure could mean above-ground or underground facilities, but it doesn’t matter. In any case, the strikes are part of the effort to prevent Hezbollah from restoring its infrastructure in the area.”