Hizballah Rockets - Facilities
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 29 September 2020 accused Hezbollah of maintaining a “secret arms depot” in a residential neighborhood of Beirut, warning it could cause another tragic explosion in the Lebanese capital. In an address to the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu pointed to maps purportedly showing the missile depot’s location next to a gas company and residential housing.
" ... here is where the next explosion could take place. Right here. This is the Beirut neighborhood of Janah. It’s right next to the international airport. And here, Hezbollah is keeping a secret arms depot. This secret arms depot, right here, is adjacent, a meter away, from a gas company. These are gas canisters. Right here. It’s a few meters away from a gas station. It’s fifty meters away from the gas company. Here are more gas trucks. And it’s embedded in civilian housing here, civilian housing here. For the Janah neighborhood residents this is the actual coordinates.
"So I want to show you the entrance to Hezbollah's missile factory. Because that’s what it is. It’s right here. This is the gas company, and this is the missile explosive depot. I say to the people of Janah, you’ve got to act now. You’ve got to protest this. Because if this thing explodes, it’s another tragedy.I say to the people of Lebanon, Israel means you no harm. But Iran does.
"Iran and Hezbollah have deliberately put you and your families in grave danger. And what you should make clear is that what they have done is unacceptable. You should tell them, tear these depots down. Just a few days ago, one of these depots exploded at Ain Qana in south Lebanon.And that is why the international community must insist that Hezbollah stop using Lebanon and Lebanese civilians as human shields."
The IDF exposed three Hezbollah Precision Guided Missile (PGM) manufacturing sites located in civilian neighborhoods in the heart of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The three PGM manufacturing sites in Beirut are all either in or in close proximity to civilian buildings:
- An underground PGM manufacturing site in the Laylaki neighborhood: the site is underneath a seven-story residential building, home to over 70 families, and is near a medical center and a church approximately 130 meters from the site.
- An underground PGM manufacturing site located in the Chouaifet neighborhood: the site is underneath a five-story residential building, home to approximately 50 families, and is nearby a mosque, approximately 90 meters north of it.
- A PGM manufacturing site in the industrial area of the Jnah neighborhood: the site is nearby two gas companies, one immediately adjacent and one 50 meters away, and a gas station, which is a few dozen meters away.
These PGM manufacturing sites, placed in the heart of populated areas in Beirut, put the lives of Lebanese civilians at risk. The disaster which occurred in the Beirut Port last August and the explosions in September showcase the extent to which the lives, the security, and the property of Lebanese civilians are at risk. Hezbollah’s strategy to hide weapons and operate from civilian neighborhoods stems from its intentions to draw the IDF to target these civilian areas in times of escalation. If Hezbollah were to target Israeli civilians from these sites, the IDF would have no choice but to react—potentially placing Lebanese civilians in harm's way—causing international outrage toward the IDF.
After several failed attempts to transfer ready-to-use PGMs between 2013 and 2015, Iran has been sending Hezbollah PGM parts to assemble in manufacturing and conversion factories in Lebanon.
