Not just Gaza: IDF conducts heavy airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon & Syrian army targets

Shortly before resuming the war in Gaza, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducted a series of airstrikes in Lebanon and Syria on Monday evening, targeting military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and the former Syrian army, respectively.

On the Lebanese front, the day began when Israel military forces spotted and struck “two Hezbollah terrorists who served as observation operatives and directed terrorist activities.”

The strike was carried out with a drone and hit two terrorists on a moped in the town of Yohmor, killing two people, according to Lebanese reports.

In the evening, the IDF announced it had struck “military sites in which Hezbollah terrorists and weapons were identified. Terror activity at these sites poses a threat to the State of Israel and constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported: “Israeli aircraft attacked seven sites in different areas.”

According to Lebanese reports, these included areas near Libbaya and Meidoun, which lie north of the Litani River in the Bekaa Valley, as well as near the Beaufort Fortress, on the banks of the Litani, near the Israeli border.

Following sporadic strikes in past months, the IDF markedly intensified its attacks on Hezbollah after a gunshot, possibly fired during a funeral for Hezbollah members, struck a car near the Israeli town of Avivim on Sunday.

The heavy strikes on Hezbollah came amid the third day of heavy exchanges of fire between the terror group and the forces of the new Syrian government along the northern part of the border.

On Monday, the Lebanese Army announced, “Contacts are continuing between the Lebanese Army command and the Syrian authorities in order to restore calm and bring the situation in the border area under control.”

Late on Monday evening, the IAF launched another wave of airstrikes in Syria, aiming to further degrade and destroy military equipment left over from forces of the ousted Assad regime.

Israeli airstrikes reported against a Syrian military site in Daraa. pic.twitter.com/vqJ0EMwZix

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The IDF said it struck “military targets in southern Syria, including command centers and military sites containing weapons and military vehicles belonging to the old Syrian Regime, which they are attempting to make reusable.”

According to Syrian reports, Israel conducted some 30 strikes, some of which hit the old headquarters of the 132nd Brigade on the outskirts of the province capital, the city of Daraa.

Other targets reportedly included a military site seized by Iranian militias, as well as sites near the town of al-Kiswah, on the outskirts of Damascus.

The airstrikes resulted in one of the highest death tolls since Israel began its campaign to destroy Syrian army equipment.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that at least three people were killed and 19 wounded in the strikes.

Later on Tuesday, the IDF announced it had conducted more strikes, targeting artillery pieces in the Khan Arnabeh area in southern Syria.

"The presence of weapons in southern Syria poses a threat to the State of Israel. The IDF will not allow a military threat to exist in southern Syria and will act against it," the military said.