Lebanese citizens are being paid to rent out their homes to Hezbollah to set up special “rocket launcher rooms,” Israel’s former prime minister has claimed.
Naftali Bennett, who has called on the IDF to step up its military action in Gaza, accused civilians in Lebanon of working together with Hezbollah to build up its terror infrastructure along the border as he defended a massive Israeli barrage that killed hundreds on Monday.
“Many Shiites in Lebanon have a unique revenue stream: In their home they have a special ‘Rocket Launcher Room,’” Bennett wrote on X.
“They’re paid monthly rent by Hezbollah to host this launcher and be prepared to shoot rockets at Israel communities on demand,” he added.
Bennett claimed he witnessed the outcome of such alleged deals while he served as a company commander fighting against Hezbollah decades ago.
Despite reports that civilians were caught in Monday’s large-scale attack, Bennett said it was necessary to destroy Hezbollah’s “death machines” that have been firing at Israel since Oct. 8.
“Any one man who turns his home into a death launchpad puts his family in severe danger, and ONLY he is responsible for the consequences,” Bennett said. “Enough is enough.”
Bennett’s claim echoed IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who said video of secondary explosions during Monday’s strikes proved that the Israeli missiles did hit Hezbollah weapons depots.
“Every home we struck, there are rockets, drones, missiles, which were intended to kill Israeli civilians,” Hagari said.
The IDF targeted 300 sites on Monday, with the blasts killing hundreds and leaving more than 1,000 others wounded, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health.
The barrage was the first time during the nearly year-long conflict that the IDF issued a warning in southern Lebanon for residents to evacuate in the face of “extensive strikes.”
“Israel’s war is not with you,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement to Lebanon. “It’s with Hezbollah.
“For too long, Hezbollah has been using you as human shields,” he added. “It placed rockets in your living rooms and missiles in your garage.
“Those rockets and missiles are aimed directly at our cities, directly at our citizens. To defend our people against Hezbollah strikes, we must take out these weapons.”
Netanyahu urged those living in southern Lebanon to take Israel’s warning seriously, with reports emerging Monday of a mass exodus in the region.
“Please, get out of harm’s way now,” Netanyahu said. “Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.”
