Baalbek, Lebanon – Israeli strikes near the Hizbollah-dominated city of Baalbek killed two group members on Monday, two security sources told AFP, in the first strikes on Lebanon’s east since clashes began after the Gaza war.
“Two Hizbollah members were killed in the Israeli strikes near Baalbek,” a security official told AFP, with another security source also confirming the toll.
Earlier Monday, one of the sources had told AFP that “an Israeli strike hit a building housing a Hizbollah civilian institution” in a Baalbek suburb.
A second Israeli strike hit a warehouse near Baalbek belonging to the Iran-backed group, the source added.
Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the press.
The Israeli army said it is “currently striking Hizbollah terror targets deep inside Lebanon”.
Monday’s strikes marked the first attack on Hizbollah outside Lebanon’s south since the start of hostilities in the wake of the October 7 Gaza war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas.
The city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley is a Hezbollah bastion bordering Syria.
Earlier on Monday, the group said it had shot down a “large” Israeli drone in southern Lebanon.
Since October 8, Hizbollah and its arch-foe Israel have exchanged near-daily fire, but strikes have been largely contained to the border between the two countries — although Israel has on occasion launched strikes elsewhere in Lebanon, including in Beirut.
In January, a strike widely attributed to Israel killed Hamas’s deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri and six fighters in Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold — the most high-profile Hamas figure to be killed during the war.
On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said there would be no let up in Israeli action against Hezbollah, even if a ceasefire and hostage deal is secured in Gaza.
At least 280 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.