Israeli airstrikes target southern Lebanon

Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon from Monday night to Tuesday morning. The targeted areas included the country’s third-largest city, Sidon, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said in a statement.

The strikes targeted storage sites that belonged to the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas, Israel’s military said on social media. The militants reportedly used the locations to produce weapons. Israel’s military acknowledged that the sites were located in civilian areas, but said their location demonstrated how the terror groups used Lebanese citizens as human shields for their illegal actions.

This week’s strikes are the latest action since Israel signed a ceasefire with Hezbollah more than a year ago. Israel maintains that the terror groups remain active in Lebanon, which, if true, would be a violation of the agreement.

How has Lebanon responded to the strikes? President Aoun condemned the attacks and said they work against Lebanon’s efforts to disarm the militants. The Lebanese army began the disarmament process of Palestinian groups last year. The military’s commander is scheduled to brief the government on this mission this week, Aoun said. He noted that Israel’s strikes raised many questions on the eve of this meeting.

Was anyone injured in the strikes? While no deaths have been reported, at least one person was injured, according to EuroNews and the Associated Press. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency published pictures purportedly of the strikes that appear to show buildings on fire and reduced to rubble.

Arabic language Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said Israel alerted residents about the strikes ahead of time by posting warnings online.

Dig deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s report on an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon in November.