BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM,: Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Monday, killing at least two Hezbollah members in its deepest attack on Lebanese territory since hostilities with the Iran-backed group erupted last October, Lebanese sources said.
Israel’s military said its fighter jets struck Hezbollah air defenses in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone that the Lebanese group said it shot down with a surface-to-air missile.
The incidents marked an escalation of hostilities running parallel to the conflict in Gaza, raising the risk of further escalation between the heavily armed adversaries, who last went to war in 2006.
The Israeli strikes hit an area near the Syrian border that is Hezbollah’s political stronghold, about 18 km (11 miles) from the city of Baalbek, which is known for its ancient ruins.
The sources said Israel carried out simultaneous strikes in the area. A Lebanese security source and a source familiar with the matter said two Hezbollah members were killed.
Lebanese television station Al-Jadeed broadcast footage of plumes of smoke rising from the area.
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Israel had expanded its attacks by hitting Baalbek and other areas and was trying to “compensate” for the downing of its drone.
“His aggression on Baalbek or any other area will not go unanswered,” he said in televised remarks at the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter killed in recent days.
An Israeli airstrike also hit a car in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s al-Manar television reported. A security source in Lebanon said at least one person had been killed.
The Israeli military said it would “continue operations to defend the State of Israel against the threat of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, including air operations over Lebanese territory.”
Hezbollah has been waging a campaign of attacks on targets on the border with Israel since an October 7 airstrike from the Gaza Strip by its Palestinian ally Hamas. Hezbollah describes it as an effort to support Palestinians under Israeli fire in Gaza.
Israel says to ‘increase fire’ on Hezbollah
The hostilities have largely taken place in areas near the Lebanese-Israeli border, but widened last week when Israel struck an area south of the coastal city of Sidon.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel plans to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
“If a temporary pause is reached in Gaza, we will increase fire in the north separately and continue until Hezbollah is fully withdrawn [from the border] and Israeli citizens return to their homes,” he said.
The violence has uprooted tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Lebanese territory with a surface-to-air missile.
Israel’s military said two missile launches targeted an Israeli air force drone operating over Lebanon. The first of them was intercepted by Israel’s “David’s Sling” air defense system, but the drone “fell in Lebanese territory” after the second launch.
Israeli strikes since October have killed about 50 civilians and about 200 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Attacks from Lebanon on Israel kill a dozen Israeli soldiers and five civilians.
