Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Monday, killing at least two Hezbollah members in Israel’s deepest attack into Lebanese territory since hostilities erupted with the Iran-backed group last October, sources in Lebanon said.
Underlining the risks of escalation, Hezbollah responded by firing 60 rockets at an Israeli army headquarters in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, the group’s al-Manar television reported. An Israeli army spokesperson said dozens of rockets were fired towards the Golan Heights from Lebanon.
The attacks marked an intensification of the worst violence between the heavily armed Hezbollah and Israel since their 2006 war, fuelling concern about the potential for further escalation and regional spillover of the Gaza war.
The Israeli army said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah air defenses in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone, which Hezbollah said it had shot down with a surface-to-air missile earlier on Monday.
The airstrikes hit part of the Bekaa Valley region near the Syrian border which is a political stronghold of the Shi’ite Islamist Hezbollah.
A Lebanese security source and a source familiar with the matter said two Hezbollah members had been killed, while Lebanese television station Al-Jadeed broadcast images of plumes of smoke rising from the area.
In a separate attack, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in the town of Mjadel in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah field commander, Lebanese security sources said.
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Israel had widened its strikes by hitting Baalbek and other areas to seek to “compensate” for the downing of its drone, and vowed retaliation.
The Israeli military said it would “continue operating to defend the State of Israel from the threat of Hezbollah terrorist organization, including in aerial operations above Lebanese territory.”
Hezbollah has been waging a campaign of attacks on targets at the border with Israel since the October 7 raid from the Gaza Strip by its Palestinian ally Hamas.
The hostilities have largely played out in areas near the Lebanese-Israeli border, but last week widened when Israel struck an area just south of the coastal city of Sidon, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
Attacks from Lebanon into Israel have killed a dozen Israeli soldiers and five civilians, whereas Israeli retaliation resulted in the deaths of some 200 Hezbollah terrorists, but also about 50 Lebanese civilians. The violence has furthermore uprooted tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
The attacks marked an intensification of the worst violence between the heavily armed Hezbollah and Israel since their 2006 war, fuelling concern about the potential for further escalation and regional spillover of the Gaza war.
The Israeli army said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah air defenses in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone, which Hezbollah said it had shot down with a surface-to-air missile earlier on Monday.
The airstrikes hit part of the Bekaa Valley region near the Syrian border which is a political stronghold of the Shi’ite Islamist Hezbollah.
A Lebanese security source and a source familiar with the matter said two Hezbollah members had been killed, while Lebanese television station Al-Jadeed broadcast images of plumes of smoke rising from the area.
In a separate attack, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in the town of Mjadel in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah field commander, Lebanese security sources said.
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Israel had widened its strikes by hitting Baalbek and other areas to seek to “compensate” for the downing of its drone, and vowed retaliation.
The Israeli military said it would “continue operating to defend the State of Israel from the threat of Hezbollah terrorist organization, including in aerial operations above Lebanese territory.”
Hezbollah has been waging a campaign of attacks on targets at the border with Israel since the October 7 raid from the Gaza Strip by its Palestinian ally Hamas.
The hostilities have largely played out in areas near the Lebanese-Israeli border, but last week widened when Israel struck an area just south of the coastal city of Sidon, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
Attacks from Lebanon into Israel have killed a dozen Israeli soldiers and five civilians, whereas Israeli retaliation resulted in the deaths of some 200 Hezbollah terrorists, but also about 50 Lebanese civilians. The violence has furthermore uprooted tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
Source: Reuters
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