Israel informed that on September 23 it carried out more than 300 strikes on the facilities of the pro-Iranian group "Hezbollah" in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Defense reported that 182 people were killed and 727 others were injured in the attacks.
The Times of Israel writes about it.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they hit Hezbollah targets, including homes where the terrorists kept weapons. IDF says it has warned civilians ahead of time to flee buildings where Hezbollah has placed rockets, drones and other weapons. The data on the dead and wounded do not indicate how many of them are members of the terrorist group and civilians.
The Associated Press writes that there were no signs of evacuation, and suggests that the Lebanese may not have known that they were living in the very houses where, according to Israeli data, Hezbollahʼs weapons are stored.
What preceded
On September 17, hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon. Because of this, 12 people died, almost 3 thousand were injured. Reuters, citing sources, writes that Israelʼs foreign intelligence service Mossad planted explosives in 5 000 pagers imported by the Lebanese Hezbollah group a few months before the explosions. ABC News notes that Israel has been preparing for the operation for at least 15 years. The Israeli president has officially denied the countryʼs involvement in blowing up pagers in Lebanon.
On September 18, a repeated series of explosions thundered in Lebanon. Walkie-talkies used by members of the Lebanese Hezbollah group and car radios were detonated. 14 people died, another 450 were injured. On the same day, Israel announced a "new phase" of the war — it would be fought mainly in the north of the country, which borders Lebanon. Since then, firefights between IDF and Hezbollah have intensified.
On September 20, IDF struck the high command of the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Beirut. The death toll as of September 22 is 45. In response to this attack, Hezbollah launched about 85 rockets from Lebanon on the night of September 22.
- In the north, Israel borders Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group operates. Hezbollah and Israel have been attacking each other since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
- Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Muslim military-political organization founded in 1982. Hezbollah is actively supported by Iran, it is recognized as a terrorist in more than 20 countries, in particular in the USA, EU and Great Britain. Hezbollah has been against Israel since its inception.