Israel strikes deep across border

BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, killing at least two Hezbollah members in its deepest attack into Lebanese territory since hostilities erupted with the Iran-backed group last October, sources in Lebanon said.

Underlining the risks of escalation, Hezbollah responded by firing 60 rockets at an Israeli army headquarters in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the group’s al-Manar television reported. The Israeli army said dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon.

The attacks marked an intensification of the worst violence between the heavily armed Hezbollah and Israel since their 2006 war, fuelling concern of the potential for further escalation and regional spillover of the Gaza war.

The Israeli army said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah air defences in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone, which Hezbollah said it had shot down with a surface-to-air missile on Monday.

The Bekaa Valley region, near the Syrian border, is a stronghold of the Shiite Islamist Hezbollah. The targeted area was 18 kilometres from the city of Baalbek, known for its ancient ruins.

Lebanese television station Al-Jadeed broadcast images of plumes of smoke rising from the area.

In a separate attack, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in the town of Mjadel in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah field commander, security sources in Lebanon said.

Israel’s military posted a video of the strike and said the target was Hassan Hossein Salami, who it said had been responsible for activities including missile launches directed at Israel.

Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Israel had widened its strikes by hitting Baalbek and other areas, and was seeking to ‘‘compensate’’ for the downing of its drone.

‘‘Its aggression on Baalbek or any other areas will not remain without response,’’ he said in televised remarks delivered at the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter killed in recent days.

The Israeli military said it would ‘‘continue operating to defend the State of Israel from the threat of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, including in aerial operations above Lebanese territory.’’

Hezbollah has been waging a campaign of attacks on targets at the border with Israel since the October 7 raid from the Gaza Strip by its Palestinian ally Hamas. Hezbollah describes it as an effort to support Palestinians under Israeli fire in Gaza.

The hostilities have largely played out in areas near the Lebanese-Israeli border, but last week widened when Israel struck an area just south of the coastal city of Sidon.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.

‘‘If a temporary pause is reached in Gaza, we will increase the fire in the north separately, and will continue until the full withdrawal of Hezbollah [from the border] and the return of Israeli citizens to their homes,’’ he said.

However, he left the door open to diplomacy. ‘‘The goal is simple – to withdraw Hezbollah to where it should be – either via an agreement, or we will do it by force,’’ he said in a statement.

The violence has uprooted tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah said on Monday it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Lebanese territory with a surface-to-air missile.

Israeli strikes since October have killed 50 civilians and 200 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

Reuters