Lebanon witnessed Monday the most intense security and military messages between Israel and Hezbollah, starting with the downing of a large Israeli drone by Hezbollah for the first time in its history. This was followed by Israeli shelling of a village near the city of Baalbek (Eastern Lebanon) also for the first time, followed by the targeting of a car in the south, resulting in the assassination of a Hezbollah member, and a retaliatory strike by Hezbollah on the command headquarters of the Golan Brigade.
Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes targeting the town of Aadous, west of Baalbek, for the first time since the July 2006 war, more than 100 kilometers away from the nearest border point. This marked a significant expansion of the bombing range, resulting in the deaths of two Hezbollah members and injuring four others, according to field sources speaking to “Middle East.”
The Israeli strikes mark the first Israeli targeting of Hezbollah outside the south since the exchange of fire between the two parties during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The airstrikes targeted a house where two fighters, mourned by the party in the afternoon, were killed, as well as a warehouse under construction intended to store food supplies provided by Hezbollah in areas within the “Carpet Cooperative” project. The sources described the site under construction as “two warehouses,” indicating that the strikes resulted in injuries transported to Dar Al-Amal University Hospital in Baalbek.
The Israeli army acknowledged bombing the vicinity of Baalbek, announcing in a statement that its fighters targeted “sites used by the air defense system affiliated with Hezbollah,” in response to the launch of a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone of the Hermes 450 type that crashed earlier on Monday.
Hezbollah announced Monday morning that its fighters had downed “a large Israeli drone of the Hermes 450 type with a surface-to-air missile over the Apple Region” located about 20 kilometers from the border.
Following the airstrike, field activists in the south posted pictures of Israeli drones of the latest and largest models flying over steep slopes, followed by an announcement of an airstrike targeting a car in the town of Majdal in southern Lebanon (15 kilometers away from the nearest border point), which turned out to be targeting a leader from the party.
In the afternoon, Hezbollah retaliated to the targeting of Baalbek’s surroundings and civilian shelling by launching 60 Katyusha rockets targeting the command headquarters of the Golan Brigade in Naaf. The Israeli army, for its part, confirmed to Agence France-Presse that “dozens of rockets” were launched from Lebanon.
Escalation reached a record level in the afternoon as Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes targeting the Sireh area near the western Bekaa Valley, also hit by Israeli shelling for the first time.
The fog of escalation, which began early Monday morning, rolled in as Israeli media reported rocket shrapnel falling in the Marj Ibn Amer area (Wadi Jezzine) east of Haifa, 35 kilometers away from the Lebanese border on the western sector, after announcing the interception of a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon.
However, this missile does not appear to be the only one launched, considering the area where Hezbollah announced launching a defensive missile against the Israeli drone and downing it, located in the Apple Region, close to the eastern sector, indicating that there were two missiles, one of which was claimed by the party, while the second was not announced.
The Israeli army spokesman stated in a statement that the Iron Dome air defense system intercepted a surface-to-air missile launched toward an Israeli Air Force drone flying over Lebanese territory using the “David’s Sling” system, adding: “An alert was activated regarding the launch of artillery shells and rockets in the Alon Tavor area after the launch of the intercepting missile,” and continued: “Shortly thereafter, another missile was launched toward the aerial piece, hitting it and falling inside Lebanese territory.” Avichay Adraee said the Israeli army “will continue to defend the State of Israel and operate in Lebanese airspace against the Hezbollah organization.”
