Israel strikes Beirut’s suburbs, targeting Hezbollah drone production
Beirut strikes spark condemnation from Lebanon, while Israel warns of more attacks if Hezbollah is not disarmed
Israel warned Friday that it would keep striking Lebanon until militant group Hezbollah has been disarmed, hours after it hit south Beirut in what Lebanese leaders called a major violation of a November ceasefire.
An Israeli military evacuation call issued ahead of Thursday’s strikes sent huge numbers of residents of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, long a bastion of Iran-backed Hezbollah, fleeing for their lives.
The attack on what the Israeli military said was Hezbollah’s underground drone factories came on the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar.
The strikes came around an hour after Israel’s military spokesman issued an evacuation call, and sent plumes of smoke billowing over Beirut.
The attack came six months after a ceasefire agreement was sealed in a bid to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.