IDF Strikes on Beirut Take Out Hezbollah Strategic Weapons

The IDF announced on Wednesday that it had struck Hezbollah targets including strategic weapons stockpiles in Beirut over the previous 24 hours. The strikes came amidst continued IDF ground operations in southern Lebanon which have already resulted in the elimination of hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists and the destruction or capture of several tunnels, bunkers and enormous stocks of weapons, ammunition and other equipment.

The latest air strikes on southern Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood came just a few hours after a Hezbollah rocket barrage on the Israeli city of Safed, in the Galilee, most of which was intercepted.

IDF strikes took place at about the same time on positions held by Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal organization, in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati issued a statement on Tuesday that he had received assurances from the Biden Administration that Israel would reduce the pace of its strikes in Beirut, although Israeli officials have dismissed this, saying they have made no promises in this regard to the US or anyone else.

Meanwhile, increasing calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, including some made by major European powers such as France and Italy, are being rebuffed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His calls for UNIFIL peacekeepers to be withdrawn, since they aren't serving any useful purpose and are only being exposed to needless hazards by staying in place in southern Lebanon, has led to some very angry denunciations by European governments who contribute soldiers to this force.

In related news, the IDF reported that it had captured three members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. The trio of terrorist commandos were attempting to hide in a tunnel in southern Lebanon when they were found and taken into custody by troops of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion.

Shortly thereafter, the IDF posted a video of an interogation they conducted of one Radwan Force commando, although the video didn't make clear if he was one of those captured recently.

In any event, the Radwan Force commando in the video told a tale of woe including being abandoned by his comrades, cut off from communication with his superior officers, and in general watching his unit fall apart around him.

He added that many of the Radwan Force members were men of "little religious faith" who had joined Hezbollah for the steady paycheque and other benefits instead of actually believing in the ideology of the organization. He also admitted that many of them were "scared of Israel" and abandoned their posts when they heard that Hassan Nasrallah had been assassinated.

Elsewhere, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi issued a statement on Tuesday in which he said that Hezbollah has lost many more fighters than it is ready to publicly admit to.

“This indicates that it is in distress and that we need to intensify our efforts against the terror group,” he added.

Nevertheless, Hezbollah's acting leader, deputy chief Naim Qassem, posted a video Tuesday in which he tried to put on a brave face, saying that Hezbollah remains strong and adding that a cease-fire in Gaza would be necessary before Hezbollah agrees to a cease-fire in Lebanon. He also issued a dark warning to the Israeli public that they would not be able to escape Hezbollah's wrath unless their leaders agree to a ceasefire on Hezbollah's terms.