IDF Completes Airstrikes on 20 Beirut Terror Targets

The Israeli military announced late Tuesday afternoon that it has completed a series of “intelligence based strikes” on 20 terror targets in Beirut, including 13 terror targets in the city’s Dahieh neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold.

The attacks came in advance of an expected vote by the Israeli political-security cabinet Tuesday afternoon approving a 60-day ceasefire agreement proposed by the United States.

It appeared to have been a “done deal” even prior to the vote — US President Joe Biden is waiting to announce the deal in Washington, with the ceasefire expected to take effect Wednesday morning local time.

Among the targets struck Tuesday afternoon by the IDF were a Hezbollah aerial defense unit center, an intelligence center, command centers, weapons storage facilities, an operations room, an artillery storage facility and terrorist infrastructure sites, the IDF said.

Seven other targets struck were components of Hezbollah’s financial system, including headquarters, storage facilities, and branches of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which are used by Hezbollah to collect and store its terrorist funds.

Several days ago, financial sanctions were imposed by the Lebanese government on 24 senior depositors of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association due to their involvement in terror funding.

Prior to the air strikes, the IDF issued a series of evacuation notices to residents in 20 buildings in Beirut.

“To all residents in the southern suburb area, specifically in the buildings specified in the attached maps and the buildings adjacent to them in Ghobeiry, you are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will act forcefully in the near future,” the IDF wrote in the notice.

“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters.”

The notice represents the most extensive evacuation order issued in the Lebanese capital since the start of the war. Heavy airstrikes began in Beirut shortly thereafter.

Lebanese media reported the IDF also carried out an airstrike in the heart of Beirut, with no prior warning. Such an attack is usually a targeted assassination attempt.

Earlier in the day, the IDF’s 91st Division reached the Litani River in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, as well as Wadi Saluki, where the troops located dozens of Hezbollah terrorist sites and weapons.

The IAF also struck Hezbollah terror targets in the area of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. Among the targets struck were weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile storage facilities, and weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense unit.

The additional storage facilities that were struck belonged to the ‘Nasser’ unit which is responsible for numerous terror attacks against communities in northern Israel and IDF troops.

Since the morning hours, the IAF struck approximately 30 Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon, including the launcher used to fire projectiles at the Western Galilee area on Monday, weapons storage facilities, terrorist infrastructure sites, command centers, and additional launchers.

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