IDF Chief Spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari on Tuesday said that the IDF used airstrikes to thwart a small attempted penetration by Hezbollah forces into northern Israel, killing four of the terrorists.
The IDF struck military targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon on Monday night, as Iran threatened Israel with strikes by Hezbollah and other proxy groups in the region.
צה"ל תקף מטרות צבאיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.צה"ל תקף לפני זמן קצר מטרות צבאיות ששימשו להכוונת טרור ותשתיות טרור של ארגון חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון, בתגובה לירי לעבר שטח ישראל אתמול pic.twitter.com/pU84AtCqUk
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 17, 2023
Initial reports indicated that a site near Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, north of Avivim, was targeted in the strikes, with a photo reportedly from the scene showing a plume of smoke rising from the area.
The IDF said that the sites targeted were used by Hezbollah to direct terrorism. The strikes came in response to attacks by Hezbollah against the IDF on Monday.
مدفعية العدو تقصف بالقذائف الفوسفورية منطقة #الضهيرة في القطاع الغربي وسط تحليق مكثف للطائرات التجسسية pic.twitter.com/r2yW1CZP6a
— علي شعيب || Ali Shoeib (@alishoeib1970) October 16, 2023
Lebanese media reported that flares and white phosphorus bombs were launched by the IDF over areas near the border overnight Monday, including near Zahajra, north of Arab al-Aramshe. Hezbollah-affiliated journalist Ali Shoeib claimed that 100 shells were fired on the area in a matter of hours overnight.
The Lebanese Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday that Hezbollah had called on the residents of the village of Shebaa, located near an area disputed by Israel and Lebanon, to evacuate their homes and go to safer areas amid a spike in tensions in the region.
Hezbollah announced earlier on Monday that it had targeted five IDF positions near the border as well as an IDF tank in the area. No injuries were reported by the IDF in the attacks.
Iran warns Hezbollah, other proxies could hit Israel in preemptive strike
The IDF strikes in Lebanon on Monday night came just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned that the Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah could launch preemptive strikes on Israel "in the coming hours."
"In the coming hours, any preemptive action against the Zionist regime is conceivable," said Amirabdollahian while referencing his recent meeting with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in an interview with Iranian television. "The leaders of the resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to do whatever it wants in Gaza and then go to other fronts of the resistance."
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal also referenced efforts to get Hezbollah to join the war more directly in an interview with Al-Araby TV on Monday evening, saying "Hezbollah has thankfully taken steps, but the battle requires more, and it is in our interest to fight the war together."