Israel says it forewarned Beirut of Hezbollah strike yet gov't, army did not act
Beirut did not respond to Israel's forewarning that it planned to strike terror targets from Hezbollah's Aerial Unit in Dahiyeh, Israeli officials said on Saturday, according to a report from KAN.
Israel officials informed Lebanon of its intent to strike Hezbollah's Unit 127 drone infrastructure a week prior, KAN said, however, no response was taken by the Lebanese government or army.
The attack on Unit 127 took place on Thursday.
Israeli Air Force's "head of Lebanon affairs," intelligence officer Lieutenant Colonel N., had been tracking Hezbollah's Unit 127 for over two years. The unit is responsible for importing, manufacturing, and deploying various unmanned aerial vehicles (AUVs) from Lebanon into Israel.
"We hit seven targets: five in Beirut and two in southern Lebanon," Lt. Col. N. confirmed.
The IDF specifically targeted Al-Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Burj Al-Barajneh in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh, as well as several specific buildings, IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Thursday.
The sites were "deliberately established in the heart of the civilian population in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut," the IDF said.
Evacuation warnings were issued to Lebanese residents prior to the attack.
"The Lebanese government must disarm the terrorist organization in Hezbollah. You must ensure that the Lebanese army truly enforces the ceasefire agreement and not through coordinated displays," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in response to condemnations of the attack by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, KAN alleged.
The French Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the attack in a post of Twitter/X on Friday, calling for "all the parties to abide by the ceasefire."
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