WarSclerotic

Israeli planes said to strike Lebanon; casualties reported

Airstrike reportedly takes place near Syria-Lebanon border; Hezbollah denies attack

By Ilan Ben Zion June 2, 2015, 2:53 pm

via Israeli planes said to strike Lebanon; casualties reported | The Times of Israel.

An Israeli F-16 during an exercise on November 25, 2013. (Ofer Zidon/Flash90)

Israeli fighter jets struck near the city of Brital, inflicting casualties, Lebanese media outlets reported Tuesday, citing security sources.

According to Lebanese news site el-Nashra, there were multiple Lebanese injured in two airstrikes near the towns of Brital and Arsal, near the Syrian border.

There was no immediate confirmation of the report. The IDF said it wouldn’t comment on foreign news reports.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar news denied the accuracy of reports of Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah near the border.

Lebanese state media reported just before the reported strike that Israeli jets were flying at low altitudes over the mountains before the strike.

It was not immediately clear when the airstrike took place.

Brital is located in eastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria. The region is a Hezbollah stronghold and has been the base of the Shiite militia’s operations against Syrian rebel groups.

Israel has been blamed for attacks in Syria in the past, including along the Syria Lebanon border. At least one airstrike was said to occur in Lebanese territory.

The reported attack comes as Israel is in the midst of a major civil defense drill meant to simulate a Hezbollah attack on major population centers.

The Israeli military has said the drill is only to prepare the home front, responding to reports of Lebanese and Iranian jitters that it could be a harbinger of a coming attack.

Israeli military officials have hinted strongly at involvement in airstrikes in Syria in the past, some of which have reportedly targeted shipments of advanced weapons to the Hezbollah terror group.

“We will not allow the transfer of sophisticated weapons to terror groups, and in particular Hezbollah,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said in April, following a reported Israeli strike in Syria. “We know how to reach [Hezbollah] and those who direct it, at any time and any place.”

The comments came after Israel reportedly hit several targets belonging to Hezbollah and the Syrian army Saturday in a series of air attacks in the Qalamoun area on the border between Syria and Lebanon.

According to a report in al-Jazeera, the Syrian targets were divisions 155 and 65 of the Assad army, in charge of “strategic weapons,” while the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya reported that the targets were Scud missile depots housed in the military bases.

Stuart Winer contributed to this report