On the evening of October 12, 2009 a large explosion took place in the house of a senior Hizbullah member which was being used as an arms cache in Tayr Filsay, a village about 15 km east of the coastal city of Tyre and south of the Litani River. In the aftermath of the explosion, Hizbullah operatives sealed off the area and used trucks to remove evidence from the scene to a nearby village.
This incident came in the wake of a similar explosion which took place at a Hizbullah arms cache three months ago, reflecting the onoing military buildup in southern Lebanon. The presence of such weapon caches demonstrates that Hizbullah is illegally storing weapons south of the Litani River in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Moreover, these incidents leave no doubt regarding Hizbullah’s practice of placing its military weapons and facilities within civilian villages and houses. Such use of Lebanese civilians as human shields endangers their safety.
The primary source of this buildup remains Iran and Syria, which continue to provide Hizbullah with large quantities of weapons and explosives, accompanied by substantial financial backing and training. Over 20,000 40 km rockets as well as rockets with a range of well over 200km, hundreds of anti-tank launchers and missiles, thousands of IEDs and anti-aircraft missiles are currently located in southern Lebanon.
Recent incidents:
- On July 14, 2009 between 1,000 and 1,500 kilograms of explosives exploded in the Shiite village of Khirbit Salim. UNIFIL access to the scene was denied, preventing proper inspection.
- On July 17, 2009, 20 people dressed in civilian clothing cut a barbed wire border fence separating Lebanon and Israel and illegally entered Israel, raising Lebanese and Hizbullah flags near an IDF post. Although both Lebanese and UNIFIL soldiers were in the vicinity, no action was taken.
- August 23 and August 24, 2009 Lebanese civilians violently clashed with Hizbullah operatives in the southern Lebanese village of Marawhain, in protest against Hizbullah’s stockpiling of weapons within the village.
- On September 11, 2009, two Katyusha rockets were fired into northern Israel landing just north of Nahariya. While terrorists associated with the global jihad claimed responsibility for this particular attack, the event underlines the dangerous situation prevailing in southern Lebanon and the ongoing presence of hostile elements and warfare, in direct contradiction of UNSCR 1701. Since the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War, about 15 rockets have been fired into northern Israel.
It is clear that elements in the Lebanese army have purposely ignored the rebuilding of Hizbullah's infrastructure. Israel considers the Lebanese government responsible for any incident that occurs in its territory and expects it to take the necessary measures to prevent Hizbullah's rearmament in southern Lebanon.