During IDF operations in the villages of Zawtar al-Gharbiya and Zawtar al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon, several Hezbollah weapons depots were discovered inside civilian buildings. In one of the structures, which had been used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, dozens of weapons were found next to a baby crib, in a bedroom, and in the living room of a civilian home.
Significant weapons seized include at least one Claymore anti-personnel mine, one PKM light machine gun, one RPG-30, one fire optic cabled FPV drone with an RPG attached, an Iranian copy of a Steyr HS .50 anti-material rifle, and several explosive formed penetrators.
This is not an isolated incident, but rather a well-established pattern. For years, Hezbollah has embedded military infrastructure within private homes, residential neighborhoods, and civilian buildings throughout southern Lebanon. In doing so, it deliberately blurs the line between civilian and military spaces, turning the local population into part of its military infrastructure.
The image of weapons stored next to a baby crib starkly illustrates the true meaning of using human shields: exploiting civilian environments for military purposes while knowingly placing the very civilians Hezbollah claims to defend at risk.
The Alma Research and Education Center continuously documents and maps incidents and findings related to Hezbollah’s use of human shields in southern Lebanon through an interactive, regularly updated map: https://israel-alma.org/hezbollahs-human-shield-map/
