Hezbollah has denied allegations made by the Israel Defense Forces that its weapons were being stored in civilian buildings targeted by Israeli strikes in the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut on Friday. In its first official comments on the airstrikes, Hezbollah stated that the claims of weapons being present in the bombed civilian buildings are completely false.
Explosions continued to rock the Lebanese capital early Saturday morning local time, following the Israeli strikes. The Israel Defense Forces had earlier announced that they were conducting targeted strikes on weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which they claimed were stored beneath civilian buildings. Residents in certain areas were instructed to evacuate as a precaution.
The latest round of strikes occurred after an initial Israeli attack on what was identified as Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday. This operation resulted in the destruction of several buildings in a densely populated area, leading to the death of at least six individuals and causing injuries to dozens more, as reported by Lebanon’s health ministry. Rescue efforts are ongoing as responders search for survivors and potential additional victims, with authorities cautioning that the current death toll is subject to change.