Israel’s targeting of a Hezbollah arms depot in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region on Monday has raised questions about whether Israel has adopted a new form of escalation and about the extent its intelligence have breached the Iran-backed party.
Israel usually targets Hezbollah arms depots in the South, but the attack in the Bekaa was a precedent.
“Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities struck,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said eleven people were wounded in the attack.
Hezbollah retaliated on Tuesday by firing rockets at the headquarters of the 210th Golan Division in the Nafah barracks and the Artillery Battalion and the Armored Brigade of the 210th Division in the Yarden barracks. It also struck the 146th Division headquarters in Gaaton.
Israeli media said Hezbollah fired over 80 rockets from Lebanon.
Israel carried out a raid on Aita al-Shaab and Talloussa in the Marjeyoun region in the South, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.
The Bekaa attack took place days after Hezbollah released a video showing one of its largest underground tunnels. A truck loaded with large missiles was seen moving in the tunnels.
Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, said the Bekaa attack was part of an Israeli escalation and strategy to permanently close the front with Lebanon.
Tel Aviv wants to eliminate Hezbollah’s threat through diplomacy or force, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Attacks on leading party figures and weapons depots are all part of preparations for a military operation or pressure to improve Israel’s negotiating position, he explained.
Moreover, he remarked that it has become obvious that Israeli intelligence has managed to breach Hezbollah, allowing it to assassinate key figures and locate arms caches.
Moreover, he ruled out the possibility of a ceasefire or comprehensive settlement being reached before the US presidential election in November.
So, the coming months will witness more military operations and negotiations to avert a major war which Iran has no interest in waging, Nader stressed.
Meanwhile, founder and CEO of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA) Riad Kahwaji said the Bekaa attack continues to confirm the extent Hezbollah is exposed by Israeli intelligence.
The breach has allowed Tel Aviv to assassinate dozens of its members and commanders, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Whoever can kill these figures naturally is aware of the party’s capabilities and location of its bases and arms depots, he remarked.
By carrying out the attack on the Bekaa right after Hezbollah released the footage of its tunnels, Israel is saying that it is aware of what the party is capable of and possesses and where it is located, he noted.
Israel carried out a preemptive strike while everyone was waiting for Hezbollah to retaliate to its assassination of top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month, he added.
