Israeli Strikes Target Southern Lebanon as Tensions Rise Ahead of Hezbollah Commemoration
Nabatiyeh, Lebanon – September 18, 2024 – The Israeli army conducted strikes targeting what it described as ”military infrastructure” belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon today, prompting evacuation warnings to residents of Mays Al-Jabal, Dabine, and Kafrbett. Avichai adraei, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, announced the deployment of maps detailing four buildings targeted in the villages via a post on “X” prior to the strikes. Residents were urged to evacuate “immediatly” and maintain a distance of at least 500 meters from the identified structures, wiht Adraei stating that remaining in the buildings “endangers you.”
The strikes and warnings come less than a year after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hezbollah and ahead of the group’s planned commemoration on September 27, 2024, of the killing of its former Secretary-General. The escalating tensions are further compounded by a Lebanese government decision, influenced by American pressure, to restrict arms held by non-state actors, including Hezbollah. This decision has led to a plan,initiated in August and currently being implemented by the Lebanese army,to disarm the party.
According to the National Media Agency in Lebanon, a displacement of residents began along the road between Kafrbett and Nabatiyeh shortly after Adraei’s declaration.
Hezbollah has rejected the disarmament plan, viewing it as part of a ceasefire agreement implementation. The group has not been weakened by recent conflict. Many countries, including the United States, European Union nations, britain, and Germany, designate Hezbollah, or its military wing, as a terrorist association. Germany banned the party’s activity and classified it as a terrorist organization in 2020.
