Israel strikes 12,500 Hezbollah targets during conflict: IDF spokesperson

JERUSALEM — Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted aerial strikes on 12,500 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon since the beginning of the conflict last October, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement on Wednesday, following the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon at dawn.

“We degraded Hezbollah’s launch capabilities, struck its strategic assets, eliminated its leadership, and damaged its command and control chain,” Hagari said, noting the army destroyed around 70 percent of the unmanned aerial vehicle stockpile held by Hezbollah’s aerial unit.

He added, “We have also targeted its ability to rearm and resupply and severely disrupted its ability to carry out its planned infiltration into our territory.”

In the hours before the ceasefire agreement went into effect, the IDF struck around 180 targets across Lebanon, including a central Hezbollah missile production site near the Syrian border, Hagari said.

“Any violation of the ceasefire will be met with fire,” Hagari warned, adding IDF soldiers are still positioned in southern Lebanon, and Israeli air force aircraft continue to fly in Lebanese airspace, gathering intelligence and prepared to act wherever necessary.

“We are preparing for the possibility of returning to intense combat and making the necessary preparations,” Hagari said.

XINHUA