Israel strikes eastern Lebanon after Hezbollah targets Israeli military bases: AFP

The Israeli army launched a series of airstrikes late Wednesday-early Thursday targeting several points in eastern Lebanon, including a camp affiliated with Hezbollah, according to a source close to the party, in an escalation following attacks by the party on Israeli military bases.

The source close to the party told Agence France-Presse that "at least five Israeli airstrikes targeted several points in the vicinity of the town of Brital, one of which hit a camp belonging to the party."

He added that the intensity of these airstrikes "is the most severe" since the escalation began between Hezbollah and Israel.

These Israeli strikes come after Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had targeted three Israeli military bases, one near Tiberias, in "response" to "assassinations" carried out by Israel, especially referring to an airstrike that Israelis said killed a prominent field commander in the party.

In separate statements, Hezbollah said it targeted a command headquarters at Branit Barracks "with heavy Burkan missiles," and the air surveillance unit headquarters at the Meron base "with dozens of Katyusha rockets, heavy missiles, and artillery shells," as part of "a response to the assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy in the south."

Later on Wednesday evening, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack "with a number of 'attack drones'" on an Israeli military base west of Tiberias, far from the border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah said in a statement that in "response to the assassinations" carried out by Israel, its fighters launched "an aerial attack with a number of 'attack drones' on an Israeli military base west of Tiberias," adding that the attack targeted "a part of the comprehensive monitoring and detection system for the air force."

This comes after an Israeli drone targeted a car in the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night, and the strike, according to the official Lebanese National News Agency, resulted in the killing of two unidentified individuals.

Hezbollah mourned in a statement Hussein Ibrahim Mekki (55 years old), indicating that he "rose a martyr on the path to Jerusalem," a phrase used to describe its members killed by Israeli fire since the start of the war in Gaza.

A source close to the party told AFP on Tuesday that Mekki was "a field commander for the party," while another source denied that the strike resulted in the killing of two people, indicating that the second person was injured.

Hezbollah did not specify the role Mekki played in its ranks or his duties.

On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army confirmed carrying out the strike that led to the "neutralization" of Mekki, describing him as a "prominent field commander in the [...] Hezbollah organization on the southern front and was responsible for planning and carrying out many attacks" since the start of the war.

The Israeli army said that Mekki had previously served as the "commander of Hezbollah forces in the coastal region" and was responsible for several attacks against Israel.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah announced targeting several Israeli sites, including a base from which a surveillance balloon was launched, causing it to fall in southern Lebanon.

AFP