Over 140 Israeli strikes target strategic sites in Lebanon

Hezbollah facilities, including underground sites in Beirut, among those struck, says Israeli army

JERUSALEM:

The Israeli army reported on Saturday that it has conducted airstrikes on over 140 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since Friday evening, including missile launch platforms and buildings used for storing weapons.

According to the Israeli military’s statement, these strikes were aimed at Hezbollah’s strategic weapons, weapons production facilities, and other military infrastructure, some of which were located beneath residential buildings in the Beirut area.

The statement claimed that in addition to targeting missile launch sites, several facilities associated with Hezbollah’s weapon production were also hit.

In a separate announcement, the Israeli army asserted that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was “neutralised” during an operation that targeted the group’s central command situated beneath a residential building in southern Beirut.

Since Monday, Israel has been carrying out airstrikes in Lebanon, which, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, have resulted in over 700 deaths and nearly 2,200 injuries.

The ministry further stated that the death toll in Lebanon since October has reached 1,540, with more than 77,000 people displaced from the southern and eastern regions of the country.

The escalation between Hezbollah and Israel is part of ongoing cross-border hostilities that began following Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip. These actions have led to the deaths of nearly 41,600 people, primarily women and children, since Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October.

The international community has expressed concern that the ongoing strikes on Lebanon could further escalate the conflict in Gaza into a wider regional war.