Israel strikes deep in east Lebanon

BEIRUT:

Israel struck Hezbollah weapons depots on Monday deep in Lebanon's east, a source close to the group told AFP, in a raid confirmed by the Israeli military.

It came after an Israeli soldier was killed in northern Israel, amid 10 months of cross-border clashes between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel.

"Israeli strikes in the (eastern) Bekaa region targeted Hezbollah weapons depots," said the source close to Iran-backed Hezbollah, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Israel's military said fighter jets "struck a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the area of Bekaa in Lebanon," triggering secondary blasts that indicated "large amounts of weapons" had been hit.

Lebanon's health ministry said the strikes in east Lebanon injured eight people.

The Iran-backed movement has exchanged regular fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.

The violence has largely been restricted to the Lebanon-Israel border area, although Israel has repeatedly struck the country's eastern Bekaa valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

Fears of further escalation have mounted as Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond after an Israeli strike last month on Beirut killed a top Hezbollah operations chief, Fuad Shukr, hours before an attack in Tehran, blamed on Israel, killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said a member of its Bedouin Trackers Unit "fell during combat in northern Israel".

Lebanon's health ministry also reported a person was killed after "an Israeli enemy drone strike that targeted a car" near the coastal city of Tyre.

Hezbollah said two of its fighters were "martyred", which followed Lebanon's health ministry reporting that an Israeli strike left two people dead in the border village of Hula.

Israel's military said its air force struck "Hezbollah terrorists" in the Hula area and "Hezbollah military structures" elsewhere in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah had said that it had responded to an Israeli "attack and assassination" in south Lebanon's Tyre area, where the Israeli army on Saturday said its aircraft had "eliminated" a Hezbollah "commander" in the group's elite Radwan force.