As Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said Saturday morning that it had targeted Hezbollah launch positions and underground shafts in several areas of southern Lebanon.
According to the military, the launch sites and subterranean infrastructure were used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to “advance terror plots against the IDF and the State of Israel.”
Qatari channel Al-Araby reported that more than 10 strikes were carried out in the al-Qatrani and Wadi Barghuz areas in southern Lebanon.
“In recent weeks, the Hezbollah terrorist organization has been operating in these infrastructures in an effort to rebuild the organization,” the IDF said. “This activity constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and poses a threat to the State of Israel.
“The IDF will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to strengthen and rearm and will continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” the military added.
The IDF is also preparing for the possibility of a U.S. strike on Iran. In that context, forces from the 91st Division destroyed four structures in southern Lebanon over the past week that had been used by Hezbollah. The military said the use of those buildings for terrorist infrastructure constituted a serious violation of the understandings between Israel and the Lebanese state.
Security officials have described the potential confrontation, if it materializes, as “multi-front,” involving adversaries from both near and far.
According to assessments, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are highly likely to join the fighting through rocket fire and drone launches. The situation with the battered Hezbollah is somewhat different. The Shiite terrorist organization has not yet decided whether to act against Israel, and current assessments indicate that, at least initially, it would prefer to remain outside the fighting.