Hezbollah has denied what it described as “false claims” by Israel regarding the presence of weapons caches in civilian buildings targeted by Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs in the early hours of Saturday.
In a statement distributed by its media office, Hezbollah stated, “There is no truth to the Zionist enemy’s false claims about the existence of weapons or weapons caches in the civilian buildings that were targeted by the bombing in the southern suburbs a short while ago.”
The Israeli military announced that it conducted strikes early Saturday, targeting Hezbollah weapons storage sites located beneath residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
According to the Israeli military, the strikes were “precise” and aimed at “strategic weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, stored beneath civilian buildings” in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.
Before the strikes, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari made a televised statement, saying, “We will soon strike the weapons stored beneath these buildings. The explosions caused by the missiles under the buildings could cause significant damage and even lead to the collapse of the structures.”
A source close to Hezbollah confirmed that the new strikes targeted the Lailaki area, where the Israeli military had previously urged residents to evacuate several buildings.
Hagari further explained, “In the heart of Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah has constructed three buildings with underground facilities designed to store strategic weapons, using the buildings above as shields.”
He added, “Hezbollah has stored these strategic weapons beneath civilian feet, with the layout allowing the missiles to be deployed within minutes for launch.”
The Israeli military spokesperson also mentioned that, “In the past hour, we contacted the residents of these three buildings, who must evacuate immediately for their safety.”
Earlier, Israeli military spokesperson for Arabic audiences, Avichay Adraee, posted maps on the platform “X” pinpointing the locations of the three buildings, urging residents to evacuate within a 500-meter radius.
