Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes near two towns in northeast Lebanon on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of at least two Hezbollah militants, according to security sources. This marks the furthest bombardment yet from the border where Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in exchanges of fire.
Israel confirmed the strikes near Ras Baabelk and Hermel, stating that its aircraft targeted several military sites used by Hezbollah. This action was taken in response to a rocket attack on one of its bases near the Lebanese border. Throughout Tuesday, incoming rocket alerts were sounded in northern Israel.
In retaliation, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted an Israeli military barracks in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, located immediately to the east of northern Israel. They claimed to have used 50 Katyusha rockets in response to Israel’s strikes on the Bekaa Valley.
Cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been ongoing since October, marking the most intense violence since the 2006 month-long war. Initially confined to border areas, the shelling has escalated recently, with Israel extending its strikes into the eastern Bekaa Valley and even further north on Tuesday.
