The IDF said it targeted weapons storage facilities and ‘military infrastructure’ in the southern regions, including in the country’s third-largest city
January 6, 2026 10:20
Israel launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon overnight in an operation aimed at destroying the “military infrastructure” of Hamas and Hezbollah, the IDF has confirmed.
Impacts were reported in the coastal city of Sidon, the country’s third largest, as well as in several villages in the southern regions.
One strike, which reportedly hit at around 1.30am on Tuesday, destroyed a commercial building in Sidon, which was uninhabited according to the Associated Press.
The military had issued evacuation warnings several hours earlier through its Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, urging civilians to leave the area around two villages in the Bekaa Valley in the north and a further two in southern Lebanon.
The villages were successfully evacuate and no casualties were reported, but the state-run National News Agency reported that one of the homes targeted belonged to deceased Hamas commander Sharhabil al-Sayed.
An IDF spokesperson said: “Yesterday, the IDF conducted precise strikes against terror infrastructure sites belonging to the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist organisations in several areas in Lebanon.
“The strikes targeted several weapon storage facilities and military structures, both above and below ground, that were used by Hezbollah to advance attacks against IDF soldiers and against the State of Israel, as well as to rebuild its military capabilities.
"Additionally, the IDF struck Hamas weapons production sites in southern Lebanon, which were used for the organisation’s military build-up and for carrying out terror attacks against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.”
While it acknowledged that the targets were located in civilian areas, it said this was “yet another example of the terrorist organisations’ cynical use of Lebanese civilians as human shields for terrorist activity”.
"Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including advance warnings to the population in the area,” the spokesperson added.
The strikes came despite a US-moderated ceasefire that has been in place between Israel and Lebanon since 2024.
But Israel maintains that the Lebanese government’s failure to disarm Hezbollah and deploy its military to former terror strongholds has forced it to take action.
"The terrorist organisations’ activity at these sites constitutes a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon and poses a threat to the State of Israel,” the IDF said.
Beirut had promised that all areas south of the Litani River would be cleared of Hezbollah fighters by the end 2025, but this does not appear to have been achieved.
The government is due to discuss the progress towards disarmament at a meeting on Thursday, during which ministers will be briefed by General Rudolph Haikal, the head of the Lebanese armed forces.
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