The Israeli military said Thursday afternoon it had begun a wave of strikes against Hezbollah terror infrastructure across Beirut, as fighting with the Iran-backed group intensified.
According to reports, strikes were carried out in Beirut’s Dahieh district — a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of the capital. Reuters reported that one strike occurred in the heart of the city, hitting a building less than a kilometer from the Lebanese government headquarters
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that 687 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the country since March 2.
Footage published in Lebanon showed a massive traffic jam as residents evacuated toward the city of Sidon after the Israel Defense Forces ordered the immediate evacuation of all areas in southern Lebanon south of the Zahrani River — a region that Reuters said accounts for about 10% of the country’s territory.
Earlier Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited Northern Command alongside Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo and other senior officers, the military said.
During the visit, Zamir conducted a situational assessment and received an operational briefing on the fighting against Hezbollah. The IDF said the chief of staff instructed commanders to reinforce the northern sector and deploy additional forces there.
“This campaign will not be short,” Zamir said during remarks at the command. “We will bring additional order of battle and capabilities to the north. We will continue operating with great force. We keep moving forward.”
At the start of his remarks, Zamir said Israel is facing a “multi-front war.”
“We are operating simultaneously against Iran and its proxies and acting with great force against the regime of evil,” he said. “Every blow to Iran weakens all of its proxies. The war against Hezbollah is another main arena, not a secondary one.”
“Let there be no confusion — we are fighting absolute evil. We must not allow our enemies to sow demoralization among us. We will continue operating in the north with force and will reinforce the troops. Hezbollah made a grave mistake and will continue to pay a heavy price.”
Zamir also criticized the Lebanese government. “The government of Lebanon is not enforcing its authority in its territory — therefore we will do so,” he said.
Of the hundreds of rockets fired at Israel the previous night, Zamir said only two struck Israeli territory, calling it “a very significant achievement.”
He said Northern Command’s operations, advance preparations and decisive actions had produced strong results.
“Dozens of terrorists were killed, most launchers were neutralized after firing, and we struck dozens of structures in the heart of Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in Beirut,” Zamir said. “We also located and eliminated the commander of the Imam Hussein Division and his deputy, along with many of the division’s staff officers.”
After the strike in Dahieh, many Hezbollah operatives fled to other hiding places in Beirut among the civilian population, Zamir said.
“We will continue to defend our citizens everywhere and from everywhere,” he said, adding that Northern Command had been reinforced with hundreds of additional soldiers, intelligence officers and intelligence-gathering and fire capabilities.
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