At least 10 people were killed in Israeli air strikes targeting eastern Lebanon, foreign media reported, while Hezbollah confirmed that a senior official from the Iranian-backed group was among the dead.
The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hezbollah-linked facilities in the Bekaa Valley, arguing that the sites represented “a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.” The attack ranks among the deadliest incidents in Lebanon since the ceasefire that ended the Israel–Hezbollah war in November 2024.
The operation in the Bekaa Valley took place only hours after another Israeli strike hit a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. In a statement posted on X, the Israeli army said it had “struck a Hamas command centre from which terrorists operated” in the Ain al-Helweh area, a densely populated camp located on the outskirts of the port city of Sidon. Two people were reported killed in that strike.
Israel has continued to conduct near-daily strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire came into force in November 2024, following 13 months of hostilities. Under the first phase of the agreement, brokered by the US and France, both Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters were required to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
In December 2025, Israel and Lebanon held their first direct talks in decades, sending civilian envoys to the Lebanese border town of Naqoura. Despite those contacts, cross-border strikes have persisted.
After the meeting, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the talks “took place in a good atmosphere” and noted that “it was agreed that ideas would be formulated to advance possible economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon.” The statement also emphasised that Israeli representatives “clarified that the disarmament of Hezbollah is obligatory, regardless of the advancement of economic co-operation.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam adopted a more cautious tone, stating that Lebanon remained “far” from diplomatic normalisation with Israel and stressing that the discussions were aimed primarily at “defusing tension.”
Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and military organisation in Lebanon backed by Iran, has previously declared that its confrontation with Israel “should only end when it [Israel] has been removed from existence.” The group is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and a number of other countries, including the UK and the US.
By Tamilla Hasanova
