Israeli airstrike destroys vital water project in Lebanon

Beirut, Oct 20 (IANS) An Israeli airstrike hit and destroyed a water project on the outskirts of Shebaa, a town in southeastern Lebanon, according to local authorities.

An Israeli warplane on Saturday fired an air-to-ground missile at the main exit of the 'Al-Maghara' spring water project, which supplies dozens of villages and towns in the areas of Al-Arqoub, Hasbaya, and Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon with drinking water, sources in the Shebaa Municipality told Xinhua news agency.

"The raid led to the explosion of the project's main exit, which caused water to flow outside the networks that supply the villages benefiting from it," the sources said.

Meanwhile, the South Lebanon Water Establishment (SLWE), which has jurisdiction over the project, said on Saturday that the facilities of the project have been severely damaged as a result of Israeli shelling that has led to their disruption and removal from service.

The SLWE said it is conducting urgent and intensive contacts with relevant authorities to provide protection for the maintenance teams and inspect the damage in preparation for repairing the facilities.

The municipalities of Al-Arqoub and Hasbaya issued a statement saying, "We appeal to the government agencies, international community institutions, and UNIFIL forces to move quickly to repair the damage caused by the Israeli raid on the drinking water project as soon as possible to secure water for more than 2,000 families."

The Israeli army has yet to comment on the attack.

Also on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its air force attacked Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters command centre in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut with the direction of precise intelligence.

"This strike joins the efforts to damage Hezbollah's weapons storage and manufacturing facilities that are embedded beneath residential buildings in the heart of Beirut, endangering the population in the area," it said.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching an unprecedented, intensive air attack on Lebanon, dubbed "Arrows of the North," in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah. It has also conducted what it said was a "limited" ground operation across the border, allegedly to cripple Hezbollah capabilities.