BICOM

Media reports and eyewitness accounts suggest that Israeli air force planes bombed Hezbollah targets near the Lebanon-Syria border last night, in an attempt to prevent missiles being transferred to Hezbollah.

Although neither Israeli nor Lebanese military would confirm the strikes, residents of the Lebanese border town of Nabi Sheet, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, told AFP that explosions nearby shook houses and flare bombs were seen in the vicinity. Lebanon’s Daily Star says that the strike targeted a weapons shipment, while Al Arabiya reported that the operation targeted a convoy moving ballistic missiles from Syria into Lebanon, presumably intended for Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Israeli planes hit a Hezbollah “missile base” near the border villages of Janta and Yahfoufa.

Hezbollah television station Al Manar denied that an air strike had taken place, but conceded that Israeli planes had flown over the Bekaa Valley area. A Lebanese military source told AFP that “Two Israeli raids hit a Hezbollah target on the border of Lebanon and Syria.” Meanwhile, an officer from IDF Northern Command, while declining to comment on last night’s reported incident told Reuters, “We have known for some time that there are efforts to move serious weaponry from Syria to Lebanon.”

Israel has repeatedly warned that any attempt to transfer sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah, particularly missiles and advanced anti-aircraft equipment, would be met with a response. Hezbollah unleashed an arsenal of rockets against northern Israeli communities during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

Although Israel has never confirmed taking military action against weapons transfers to Hezbollah, media reports claim Israel has done so on several occasions during the past year. In November, an attack reportedly took place on Russian-made missiles in the Syrian port of Latakia and in January, a convoy of trucks carrying sophisticated Russian-made anti-aircraft weaponry was apparently targeted. Israel remained similarly silent over a 2007 airstrike which is thought to have destroyed a nascent Syrian nuclear facility.