After about a week of quiet, Israel Air Force jets struck the Dahieh neighborhood of southern Beirut on Wednesday morning.
Witnesses told Reuters that after Israel struck the Lebanese capital, a blast was heard, and a plume of smoke could be seen.
The IDF later stated that the IAF had targeted "strategic weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization" in a strike conducted according to precise intelligence from the Military Intelligence Directorate.
The weapons were being stored in a subterranean storage facility, the military noted.
Warning issued before the strike
The military stated that a number of measures were taken prior to the strike in order to minimize potential harm to civilians.
Approximately an hour before the strike, IDF Arab media spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted a warning on X/Twitter, urging Lebanese residents near a building identified on a map in the post to evacuate. Adraee noted in his post that the building was located in Haret Hreik, a municipality in Dahieh.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل جديد إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة والواقع في حارة حريكأنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم عليكم اخلاء هذا… pic.twitter.com/cigjAse6iL
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 16, 2024
"You are located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, and the IDF will work against them in the near future," the IDF spokesperson wrote. "For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate this building.
The map shared in the post noted, in Arabic, that the people in the vicinity of the building highlighted on the map were required to move 500 meters from the site.
The map also highlighted the Marty Mahmoud Faid School, located next to the building.
This is a developing story.