Officials in the Hezbollah terrorist organization have completely evacuated their headquarters in the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut.
“Completely,” meaning they not only evacuated all their personnel, but also took along with them their computers and other equipment, anticipating Israel’s likely destruction of the building, if not the entire neighborhood.
According to Lebanon’s Al-Jamhoriya newspaper, the move indicates that Hezbollah’s leadership “is preparing for the worst in the event of an Israeli response.”
The newspaper is affiliated with those in Lebanon who are opposed to Hezbollah.
The Israel Defense Forces are expected to respond in kind if and when Hezbollah launches its planned retaliation for the assassination in Beirut two weeks ago that eliminated Hezbollah chief of staff, Fuad Shukr.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has pledged “a blow unlike any other” if Hezbollah escalates its attacks in cooperation with Iran.
“The enemies from Iran and Hezbollah are threatening to harm us in a way they haven’t done in the past,” Gallant said Sunday in remarks to new recruits to the Nahal and Kfir Brigades at the Tel Hashomer military recruiting base.
“Whoever does this, may expect a blow from us unlike any other in the past. We have significant capabilities. I hope that they will rethink and not lead to the outbreak of war on additional fronts,” Gallant said.
In a separate Lebanese media report, Beirut’s Economy Minister Amin Salam expressed additional concerns.
“We have only enough fuel for a month. How will we operate the hospitals? How will we store food in refrigerators? How will we operate the infrastructure for the security services?” he asked.
Operating hospitals, supermarkets and food storage requires fuel, he pointed out.
Salam added that his ministry is hoping the government declares a state of emergency at its meeting set for Wednesday, given the current situation.
Last Thursday, Israel’s defense minister posted a message to the people of Lebanon Thursday evening in a statement written in Arabic on the X social media platform.
““Shiite Iran and those who submit [to its ideology], led by Hezbollah, have taken Lebanon and its people hostage for the sake of narrow sectarian interests,” Gallant wrote.
“We will not allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region. If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it, with all its might,” he added.
The warning fell on deaf ears, however: Hezbollah has not only continued its daily drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, but has in fact further escalated its efforts.
Overnight Sunday into Monday, Hezbollah launched some 30 Katyusha rockets at Israel’s northern coastal city of Nahariya. Some were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense array, and some landed in open areas, including several that started fires upon impact.
The terror group claimed it was aiming at a nearby military base, but its rocket fire triggered Red Alert sirens that sent an entire city of Israelis racing for safe spaces — including parents who had to grab their sleeping children — barely two hours after midnight.
