Israel Matzav

IDF releases second video of Hezbullah work accident

The IDF has released a second video of Friday's Hezbullah work accident at a weapons storage facility at Shehabiyeh (or Shahabiya), east of Sidon, and this one clearly shows Hezbullah terrorists removing long-range rockets from the building.

Let's go to the videotape.



Unfortunately, this one is not available with an English translation yet. But what you're seeing on the screen is times based on a 24-hour clock with Hebrew captions of what you're seeing. At 22:39 (10:39 pm), you'll see the rockets being moved.

Here's a description of some of what's in the video.

The UAV footage shows a pillar of smoke rising from the home as people, likely Hizbullah operatives, close off the street below and prevent soldiers from the Lebanese Armed Forces from approaching the area.

In addition, the footage shows a canvas sheet spread out atop part of the roof, likely to cover up the hole of the explosion. Already Friday afternoon, despite the daylight, Hizbullah began evacuating some of the weaponry from the site, including 107 and 122 mm rockets, the mainstay of Hizbullah’s missile arsenal.

Later, at night, the evacuation picked up speed, seemingly due to a Hizbullah belief that Israel would have more difficulty detecting the illicit activity, which clearly violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 which forbids Hizbullah from storing weaponry in southern Lebanon.

Dozens of cars and operatives are seen at the home, carrying out large amounts of weaponry and loading them into the vehicles, some of which then travel to nearby homes. Other trucks carried some of the weaponry to a mosque in Nabatieh, a town in central Lebanon, where UNIIFL is not allowed to operate.

The mosque is known to the IDF as a Hizbullah facility that is used by the guerilla organization for various, including military, activities. The assessment within the IDF’s Northern Command is that the weaponry was transferred north of the Litani River – where UNIFIL’s mandate ends – to prevent the peacekeeping forces from detecting the violation.

Early in the video there's a caption that says "14:28 - Senior Hezbullah officials arrive at the scene." It is quickly followed by one that says "14:25 - Lebanese Army arrives on the scene and is denied access."

Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:47 AM