CNN
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Israeli forces took strikes at Hezbollah “drone factory” on Thursday in southern Lebanon and in the outskirts of Beirut.
The Israeli attack marked the biggest escalation in Lebanon since the US brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese extremist group Hezbollah in November.
The Israeli Defense Forces said it was shocking the “127 terrorist targets by the Hezbollah Air Force (127)” located on the southern outskirts of Dahie in Beirut.
NNA News reported a strike from Israeli drones, saying “a series of warning strikes numbered by seven or more people” targeted the city’s southern suburbs. The news outlet also said that Israeli drones had launched airstrikes in the town of Ai Kana in Lebanon’s Iklim Taffa region.
A spokesman for Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health told CNN early Friday morning.
Israeli forces had previously warned of attacks in areas aimed at targeting Hezbollah-controlled “underground UAV production facilities.”
IDF Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a “urgent warning” via social media early Thursday, urging residents of “Al-Hadath, Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh” to immediately evacuate buildings marked red on attached maps and adjacent structures, and stay at least 300 meters for safety.”
The second “emergency warning” was published by Israeli forces via a post from X with a Lebanese satellite photo with a highlight zone that said it showed the location of the Hezbollah site. The warning urged residents to evacuate nearby buildings and “quickly stay over 500 meters away.”
The announcement has prompted widespread panic and evacuation, according to the NNA. Social media videos captured Thursday night showed dozens of cars leaving the neighborhood south of the city.
The strike came as Lebanese Muslims prepared to celebrate Eid al-Ada, known as the East Feast of Sacrifices, on Friday. Most Muslims in Lebanon usually celebrate the eve of Eid, which fell on Thursday evening local time.
Lebanon President Joseph Orn and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam both condemned the Israeli strike, saying that Oon “is a blatant violation of international agreements and that the fundamental doctrine of international and humanitarian law and resolutions is the eve of important religious opportunities.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X shortly after the strike, saying the Lebanese government is “directly responsible for preventing ceasefire violations and all terrorist activities against the Israeli state.”
“We will continue to implement ceasefire rules without compromising,” Katz added.
Israel previously attacked the same area, Hezbollah’s base in late March. The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was mediated in November 2024, but a continuing strike in southern Lebanon targeting extremists and facilities in Hezbollah.
CNN’s Charbel Mallo and Lauren Izso contributed to this report