On the evening of Thursday, June 5, Israel launched multiple airstrikes in the southern outskirts of Beirut. The Israeli military claimed it had targeted Hezbollah positions after issuing warnings to civilians to evacuate those areas.
According to RFI journalist Paul Khalifeh, reporting from Beirut, the attacks occurred as Muslims were preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha on Friday, June 6.
Colonel Avichay Adraee, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for Arabic-speaking populations, announced on X that the Israeli army “is currently conducting strikes on Hezbollah’s aerial units (Unit 127) in the southern outskirts of Beirut.”
He also issued a warning urging residents to evacuate Ain Qana, a village located about 20 kilometers from Israel’s border in southern Lebanon, ahead of planned strikes on what he described as Hezbollah equipment sites.
In a special statement, the Israeli army declared that it would “soon strike drone-operating sites intentionally placed within civilian areas” in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital.
The statement read: “After Hezbollah increasingly used drones in terrorist attacks against the State of Israel, the terror organization is working to boost its drone capabilities in the next war.”
The Israeli military added that such actions “openly violate the agreements between Israel and Lebanon.”
On Friday, June 6, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the military would continue striking Beirut unless Hezbollah is disarmed by the Lebanese authorities.
He said: “There will be no calm in Beirut, no order, no security in Lebanon while there is no security for the State of Israel. Agreements must be upheld, and if you do not act, we will continue—more forcefully.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam “strongly condemned” the Israeli strikes in the southern outskirts of Beirut, also denouncing the “extreme violence” and violations of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia.
