IDF Strikes Hezbollah UAV Factories and Storage in Beirut and Southern Lebanon

Latest Developments

Israel Strikes Hezbollah Positions: The Israeli Air Force on June 5 struck multiple Hezbollah unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) production and storage facilities embedded in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district and in the south Lebanese town of Ain Qana. The IDF said that the attack targeted sites utilized by Hezbollah’s Air Unit 127, responsible for launching over 1,000 drones at Israeli targets since the Iran-backed terrorist organization began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023. The IDF issued warnings before carrying out both sets of airstrikes.  
Lebanese President Condemns Strike: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the Israeli strikes “a blatant violation of an international agreement” — citing the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon — and “damning evidence of [Israel’s] rejection of the requirements of stability, settlement, and just peace” in the region. Separately, Israel asserted that Hezbollah’s increase in drone production in the Lebanese capital constituted a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.
LAF Claimed It Would Inspect Target Building: An unnamed Lebanese military official claimed the Lebanese Armed Forces had attempted to inspect the target building following Israel’s evacuation notice but that IDF warning strikes had prevented this. A U.S. official stated that Israel had informed the United States of the strikes in advance and that Washington did not object to the action.

FDD Expert Response

“Hezbollah’s continued possession of an active drone production facility aligns with the group’s efforts to reconstitute its strength and rebuild its infrastructure throughout Lebanon, as revealed by Israel in recent weeks. That this facility existed on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital further proves Lebanon’s continued unwillingness, inability, or both, to confront Hezbollah, especially north of the Litani River. The IDF’s disregard of the LAF’s promise to inspect and address the facility underscores this fact. The Israelis don’t trust the LAF to do its job, or to do it right. Therefore, letting the LAF search the building would have amounted to little more than interference in Israel’s efforts to combat Hezbollah’s reconstitution.” — David Daoud, Senior Fellow

“Much like previous high-profile Israeli strikes, media coverage has once again centered on the spectacle of the attack rather than the context that compelled the IDF to act. In this case, Hezbollah deliberately constructed an underground UAV production facility underneath civilian infrastructure in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district to shield it from strikes. Yet rather than highlighting this calculated abuse of civilian space by Hezbollah, much of the news coverage fixates on the strike and its aftermath.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal