Israel Confirms Striking Hezbollah Arms Depots in South Lebanon

The Israeli military reported that it struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities overnight, following Lebanese state media’s report of an Israeli attack on an ammunition depot in southern Lebanon.

Since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, sparking the war in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah has been engaging in near-daily cross-border fire exchanges with Israeli forces in support of Hamas.

According to an Israeli military statement, the Israeli air force “struck two Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon, containing rockets and additional weaponry.”

Late Saturday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that “the Israeli enemy launched a raid” on the town of Adloun, located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Israeli border. The NNA later clarified that the target was “an ammunition depot.”

The NNA added that rockets continued to explode about an hour after the initial strike, causing “light injuries to three citizens.” The highway connecting the southern coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre was disrupted in both directions, with videos online showing several large explosions in Adloun. “Shrapnel from the explosions flew to surrounding villages,” the NNA reported.

Earlier on Saturday, Hezbollah and its Palestinian ally Hamas fired rockets and explosive-laden drones at Israeli positions. Hezbollah stated it launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at northern Israel “in response” to an Israeli strike that injured civilians. Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, also claimed to have fired a rocket salvo from southern Lebanon towards an Israeli military position in the Upper Galilee.

Since October, the violence has resulted in at least 515 deaths in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally. Most of the fatalities have been fighters, but at least 104 civilians are also among the dead. On the Israeli side, 18 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.