Two people, a woman and a child, were killed and dozens were wounded in a series of Israeli raids on northerneastern Lebanon's Baalbek on Thursday night, according to Lebanon's health ministry, in what the Israeli army said were strikes on Hezbollah military bases.
The boy, a Syrian, was sixteen and died in the attack, while a woman later died from her wounds, the health ministry said. At least 29 others were wounded -- nine children and eight women.
Israeli aircraft carried out raids across the four villages in the region, damaging homes and shops.
The Israeli military said it had struck eight “military compounds” used by Hezbollah's elite operations unit, the Radwan Force.
It claimed, without offering evidence, that the areas attacked were used to store rockets and firearms, and had been the scene of Hezbollah training exercises to prepare for a state of emergency.
Israel claims Hezbollah is secretly rearming after suffering heavy losses in the war between the two in 2024. The accusation is disputed in Lebanon.
Israeli conducts daily strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that called for it to withdraw its forces from the country. But Israel has refused to withdraw fully from south Lebanon, remaining in at least five points of territory in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli government has threatened to step up attacks if Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, becomes involved in a dreaded regional war with the US. Sources have told The National Hezbollah is signalling restraint and would not necessarily intervene.
Last week, an Israeli strike killed eight members of Hezbollah.
Under pressure from the US, the Lebanese government and army are pursuing their own plans to disarm Hezbollah. The group has vowed it will not hand over its weapons.
