President Isaac Herzog: “This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity. Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice – from the Allied victory over the Nazis till today. It ignores the plight of the 101 Israeli hostages held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza. It ignores Hamas’ cynical use of its own people as human shields. It ignores the basic fact that Israel was barbarically attacked and has the duty and right to defend its people. It ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy, acting under international humanitarian law, and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population.

The Prime Minister’s Office, today (Thursday, 21 November 2024) [translated from Hebrew]: The antisemitic decision of the International Criminal Court is a modern Dreyfus trial – and will end the same way. Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body. No war is more just than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza since October 7th 2023, when the Hamas terrorist organization launched a murderous assault and perpetrated the largest massacre against the Jewish People since the Holocaust.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a third round of airstrikes today, hitting multiple Hezbollah command centers in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The targeted sites, according to the IDF, were embedded within densely populated civilian areas. The military accused Hezbollah of deliberately endangering civilians by using them as human shields. Ahead of the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation notices to residents, urging them to leave the area to avoid harm.

The IDF announced the discovery of extensive underground terrorist infrastructure linked to Hezbollah, containing dozens of launchers, rockets, and other weapons. The 226th Reserve Brigade, operating under the 146th Division, has been conducting targeted ground raids in southern Lebanon aimed at neutralizing threats to Israel’s northern communities. During recent operations, troops uncovered hidden combat compounds, rocket launchers, mortars, and stockpiles of military equipment used in attacks against Israel over the past year. Among the findings was an elaborate underground network featuring storage areas for weapons, living quarters, and even a kitchen stocked with food supplies.

Over the past few hours, the IAF conducted a series of intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the Dahieh area, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut, where Hezbollah has systematically embedded its terrorist infrastructure amidst the Lebanese civilian population, cynically exploiting them as a human shield. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk to civilians, including issuing advance warnings to the population in the area. These strikes are a part of the IDF’s ongoing efforts to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities. The IDF is continuing to strike Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites in the Dahieh area.

In the past week, the Israeli Air Force has neutralized more than 140 Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, which posed a direct threat to Israeli civilians and IDF troops in the region. Among those targeted were launchers responsible for recent attacks on the Western Galilee and central Israel. The strikes also eliminated key Hezbollah leaders, including a battalion operations commander, an anti-tank missile commander, and a company commander within Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces. Additionally, IDF operations over the week have led to the elimination of over 200 Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

The IDF launched airstrikes today targeting key infrastructure and command centers of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in Syria, resulting in substantial damage to its facilities and operatives. Islamic Jihad, alongside Hamas and under the direction of leaders outside Gaza, played a role in the October 7th attack on Israel. The group also supports Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with ongoing operations aimed at Israel, and acts as an Iranian proxy under direct guidance from Iran. Furthermore, Islamic Jihad operates within Syria, shielded by the Syrian regime.

The IDF has intensified targeted operations in both the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, dismantling significant terrorist infrastructure and weaponry. In southern Lebanon, IDF forces conducted localized strikes on weapons storage facilities and other key terrorist sites using artillery and aerial attacks. Over the last day, troops uncovered and dismantled rocket and anti-tank missile launchers, explosive stockpiles, and command centers. Multiple launchers aimed at Israeli communities were also located and neutralized. Simultaneously, in Gaza’s Beit Lahia and Jabaliya areas, IDF operations uncovered large weapon caches and eliminated dozens of terrorists through air and ground assaults.

IDF Commando Brigade units, including Egoz, Maglan, and Duvdevan soldiers, are carrying out precise ground operations on new enemy targets in southern Lebanon, supported by detailed intelligence. These limited raids are taking place in dense, mountainous terrain, where Hezbollah has set up “combat compounds,” some within civilian villages used to launch rocket attacks on Israel. During one of the operations, troops discovered a 32-barrel rocket launcher aimed at Israel, as well as a range of additional weapons and combat equipment. All of these items were confiscated and destroyed, while IDF forces continue to eliminate threats from both the ground and the air.

The IDF has dismantled a substantial number of Hezbollah’s underground weapons production and storage facilities located within the Dahieh district of Beirut, a stronghold for the terrorist organization. These sites, hidden beneath civilian infrastructure, were used for manufacturing and storing hundreds of missiles and rockets aimed at Israel. For the past two decades, Hezbollah has covertly built dozens of these facilities in Dahieh, often concealing them below residential buildings and other public spaces. In recent weeks, as part of the IDF’s Operation “Northern Arrows,” IAF aircraft have conducted targeted strikes on these facilities, following extensive intelligence gathering by the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate.