Israel Shifting to Bunker-Busting Bombs as Strikes on Lebanon Escalate

Attacks near Nabatieh targeted populated areas during peak traffic hours

Since the ceasefire began in late November, Israel has carried out enormous numbers of airstrikes against southern Lebanon. The strikes have continued in recent days, but there are signs of even further escalation as bunker-buster bombs are increasing utilized.

Major attacks on the outskirts of Nabatieh last week reportedly included a number of such high-intensity munitions. Israeli military officials claimed the intent was to destroy Hezbollah “tunnels” and infrastructure in the area, though the actual existence of such sites is not confirmed.

The argument seems to center around the idea that the hills in that area would be convenient to tunnel into. On the other hand, people point out that usually Hezbollah tunnels were built in remote areas, and this was in and adjacent to a rather densely populated part of Nabatieh.

Moreover, the strikes were carried out during peak hours of traffic when school was in session in the area, fueling panic among locals. Only one person was reported killed and eight wounded, but the panic appears to be part of the point, as these strikes are increasingly seen as less about damaging anything concrete than about playing well in the Israeli media and fueling fear in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region.

The talking points of such attacks don’t fit neatly into Israel’s overall narrative of Hezbollah not complying with the ceasefire by those sites existing. The ceasefire only requires Hezbollah to withdraw from the areas south of the Litani River, and the intense strikes Thursday were in an area due north of the river, so even if it had turned out Hezbollah had tunnels there, those wouldn’t have been contrary to the ceasefire.

Israel has been accused of several thousand violations of the ceasefire, most of them involving firing on Lebanese territory. Since the ceasefire began, Hezbollah has not launched any rockets on Israeli territory, though a group of people did attempt to fire rockets from primitive launchers at the border village of Metula. Half of the rockets were intercepted, while the other half fell short of the border, inside Lebanese territory. The Lebanese government arrested suspects over the attack, while the Lebanese Army dismantled the rocket launchers.

Israeli attacks on Sunday continued targeting the south of Lebanon. One person was injured when Israeli troops opened fire on the town of Maroun al-Ras with rubber bullets. Artillery strikes were also reported in Aita ash-Shaab. Israeli warplanes were seen over Baalbek, but no airstrikes were reported in that area so far.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.