Israel bombs Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon after outfit's ‘revenge’ warning

Israel has said that it has conducted a series of air raids at Hezbollah strongholds in Southern Lebanon amid fears of a possible escalation in hostilities in the Middle East.

The airstrikes are being called some of the most intense bombings since the start of Israel’s clash with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Gaza in October last year.

Air force destroys Hezbollah rocket launchers

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that its air force has destroyed at least 100 rocket launchers, located across Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, and meant to be used on Israeli soil.

“With the direction of IDF intelligence, the IAF struck approximately 30 Hezbollah launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites, containing approximately 150 launcher barrels that were ready to fire projectiles toward Israeli territory. Additionally, the IDF struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and a weapons storage facility in multiple areas in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said in a post on X on Thursday (September 19).

“The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponised civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields—having turned southern Lebanon into a war zone. The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes and achieve war goals,” the IDF said in another post.

‘New phase of war’

The attacks, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, targeted the towns of Mahmoudieh, Ksar al-Aroush and Birket Jabbour in the Jezzine area.

In a media briefing on Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that the Hezbollah would “pay an increasing price” as Israel tries to secure its borders with Lebanon to enable the return of residents who had fled following cross-border attacks.

He had asserted that Israel was entering a “new phase of war”, hinting that its conflict in the region, which was centered around Gaza, will not expand to the northern border with Lebanon.

Pager blasts and Hezbollah’s warning to Israel

Israel’s strikes comes in the wake of simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkie owned by Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and Syria in which at least 35 people have been killed and over 3,000 have been injured.

Blaming Israel for the explosions and vowing revenge, the militant outfit’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday said Israel with the “massacre” has crossed “all red lines” and that the Hezbollah will strike Israel both where it expects to be struck and it does not.