Israel targeted Hezbollah sites close to the Lebanese city of Baalbek on Monday, a security source said, marking the first strike on Lebanon’s eastern region in nearly five months of ongoing cross-border conflicts.
“An Israeli strike hit a building housing a Hezbollah civilian institution,” in a Baalbek suburb, the source said, requesting anonymity.
A second Israeli strike hit a warehouse near Baalbek belonging to the Iran-backed group, the source said.
The Israeli army said it is “currently striking Hezbollah terror targets deep inside Lebanon”.
Monday’s strikes marked the first attack on Hezbollah outside Lebanon’s south since the start of hostilities in the wake of the October 7 Gaza war.
The city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley is a Hezbollah bastion bordering government-held Syria, a major Hezbollah ally.
Earlier Monday, the group said it shot down a “large” Israeli drone in southern Lebanon.
At least 278 people have been killed on the Lebanese side since fighting erupted, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 44 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to the Israeli army.
