Israel retaliates with Baalbek strike post Hezbollah’s Tiberias drone assault

Israeli jets carried out airstrikes in the Baalbek district overnight after Hezbollah launched multiple drones at a base near Tiberias, marking one of their deepest incursions into Israeli territory in months of cross-border skirmishes.

The airstrikes, which took place around midnight on Wednesday, targeted the hills and mountains near the town of Brital in northeast Lebanon, close to the Syrian border. There were no reports of casualties.

The targeted area is a known Hezbollah stronghold and a crucial route linking the group’s positions in eastern Lebanon to the Qalamoun mountains in Syria, where Hezbollah also has a military presence.

The Israeli military reported no injuries from the airstrikes.

These strikes followed Hezbollah’s attack on an Israeli military base near Tiberias using explosive drones. Since the Palestinian group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war, Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, have been exchanging near-daily fire.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hezbollah announced it had fired dozens of rockets at military positions in northern Israel, specifically targeting the Meron base with Katyusha rockets, heavy rockets, and artillery shells. They also attacked a barracks with heavy rockets, claiming these actions were a response to an Israeli assassination the previous day.

The Israeli army confirmed that sirens had sounded in Meron but did not provide additional details.

Later, Hezbollah stated that its fighters had launched an aerial attack with drones on the base west of Tiberias, about 30 kilometers from the Lebanese border, targeting surveillance and detection systems and claiming successful hits.

Previously, Hezbollah’s attacks had been limited to Israeli towns and bases near the Lebanese border.

On Tuesday evening, Hezbollah reported that Israeli fire had killed one of its members, Hussein Makki, identified as a field commander by a source close to the group. The Israeli army confirmed the strike, describing Makki as a senior field commander responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and territory. He had previously commanded Hezbollah’s forces in the coastal region.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that two people were killed in an “enemy drone strike” targeting a car on the main road between Tyre and Al-Husha. However, a source close to Hezbollah later clarified that while Makki was killed, the other person was injured.

Over seven months of cross-border violence have resulted in at least 412 deaths in Lebanon, mostly militants but including 79 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 14 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed.

The ongoing conflict has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.