Rules of engagement: Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah's retaliation in Bekaa and Golan Heights

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Three Israeli airstrikes targeted Hezbollah depots in three locations within Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Monday evening. The strikes hit storage facilities in Nabi Sheet, Qasr Naba Temnine, and near Saraain, igniting fires in the Temnine area and leaving 11 people injured.

After more than ten months of ongoing war, Hezbollah has evacuated many of its positions and storage sites, redistributing its forces while leaving some locations either empty or holding limited supplies and munitions. 

The Israeli airstrikes on Bekaa provoked a swift response from Hezbollah, which launched rockets at key Israeli military installations, including the Golan Brigade 210 headquarters, the artillery regiment, and the armored brigade at Yarden base in the Golan Heights.

The events of Monday and Hezbollah's retaliatory strikes on Tuesday morning highlight the evolving rules of engagement that have emerged throughout the war. 

The latest Israeli assault on the Bekaa Valley came in response to Hezbollah's successful drone strikes on the Yaara base and, for the first time, the Sant Jin base, located about 16.5 kilometers from the Lebanese border and north of Acre. These strikes resulted in Israel acknowledging the death of a sergeant and injuries to other soldiers at Yaara.

This marks the eighth time the Israeli military has targeted Bekaa during the escalations, excluding various assassinations carried out by drones. 

When Hezbollah's drones penetrate deep into Israeli territory, targeting military bases and causing casualties, or when Israeli drones are shot down, the Bekaa Valley becomes a focal point for Israeli retaliation, followed by Hezbollah's strikes on sites in the occupied Golan Heights.

For instance, when Hezbollah shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone with a surface-to-air missile, Israel launched its first airstrike on Bekaa, specifically around Baalbek, on February 26. 

Similarly, after Hezbollah successfully targeted the aerial surveillance unit at Meron with drones and rockets, Israeli warplanes bombed Hermel, the deepest target struck during the conflict, approximately 135 kilometers from the Lebanese border.

The war has effectively dismantled old rules of engagement and established new ones without formal negotiations or dialogue. 

While these rules shape the trajectory of war, will they try to prevent the conflict from escalating into a full-scale war?