Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced on April 19 that it had foiled a planned rocket attack from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel for the first time since a ceasefire brokered by the United States entered into effect last November.
In a statement, the military said that its forces raided an apartment in the southern city of Sidon, confiscated rockets and launch pads, and arrested several individuals involved.
Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab\The Lebanese Armed Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab\The Russian Ministry of Defense)
Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab\The Russian Ministry of Defense)
Click to see full-size image. (Screengrab\The Lebanese Armed Forces)
The LAF arrested last week Palestinians and Lebanese citizens who were involved in a rocket attack on northern Israel in March. The attack was the second to target Israel since the start of the ceasefire on November 27. At the time, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) responded with a wave of strikes that reached the capital, Beirut, for the first time during the ceasefire.
The Lebanese gesture was not apparently enough for Israel, which carried out a series of strikes against the southern towns of Arnoun, Kfar Tibnit and Deir Mimas right after the LAF’s announcement. Lebanese media didn’t report any casualties, but said that the damage from the strike was extensive.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli drone strike hit a vehicle in the area of Kaouthariyet al-Saiyad between Sidon and the nearby city of Tyre.
The IDF identified a man killed in the strike as Hussein Ali Nasr, the deputy chief of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 which is responsible for smuggling weapons.
As part of his role, the IDF said that Nasr worked, alongside Iran, to smuggle weapons and funds into Lebanon to restore Hezbollah’s military capabilities. Some of the weapons and cash were smuggled via the Beirut airport, according to the military.
“Nasr was in contact with workers at the airport who were secretly operating for Hezbollah and assisting with smuggling operations. In addition, he advanced and led weapons procurement deals with smugglers along the Syria-Lebanon border. Moreover, as part of his role, he oversaw the organization’s force build-up process,” the IDF said in a statement.
The military noted that the strikes come as part of efforts against Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon, via Syria and Iraq.
Hezbollah accepted the U.S.-proposed ceasefire following a heated confrontation with the IDF that broke out more than a year earlier as a result of the Israeli war on the group’s ally, Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire was supposed to end all clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border by February 18. Nevertheless, the Israeli military continues to launch strikes against Hezbollah. It also maintains troops at five strategic points in southern Lebanon.
The recent developments show that Israel is determined to escalate against Lebanon, despite all the efforts the LAF and Hezbollah are making to enforce the ceasefire.
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the “lebanese” “army” is authorized by israël as long as they have only rocks and sticks.
the lebanese govt and the army are dogs of the zio nazi terrorist jewscums in isrealhell and united snakes of aipac, usa
it is official , lebanon is an idf member .
trying to please israel is like trying to please the texas chainsaw massacre family. remember that commercial, “people in horror movies do the dumbest things.”
so do people in real life.
this has about as much impact on the conflict as say, the mexican police busting a kid with car full of guns n dope. there’s still 1000 more kids hustling cars loaded with narco supplies n arms. if nasr isn’t trafficking arms, the cia will send a replacement arms trafficker, just to keep the money flowing and israel will always have an excuse to bomb, like the good customer of bombs they be…