Bekaa under fire: Israeli airstrikes broaden across Lebanon

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi    

The Israeli army escalated its attacks on Friday evening, carrying out airstrikes on three residential buildings in the eastern Bekaa towns of Tamnine, Bednayel, and Ali El Nahri.

Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center said in an official toll that 10 people were killed and 24 others wounded in the strikes.

Hezbollah confirmed that eight of its members were among the dead, including commander Hussein Yaghi, who was killed in the raids.

The Israeli army claimed it had targeted three Hezbollah facilities and said those killed belonged to the group's rocket unit. It is alleged that they had been accelerating weapons development and planning operations. 

However, residents in the affected areas described a different account, pointing to widespread destruction in residential buildings and vehicles and the presence of civilian casualties.

Strikes in the Bekaa are not new, but observers described Friday's attacks as among the most intense since the ceasefire agreement, particularly given that the targets were located between densely populated residential neighborhoods.

The escalation began earlier Friday with an Israeli strike on an office used by Hamas as a joint security force center, killing two people whom Hamas later identified as members.

The strike on Hamas in Ain al-Hilweh was the second of its kind in the past three months. In November, young men were targeted at a playground inside the camp, resulting in multiple fatalities.

The Israeli attacks have extended beyond Lebanon's preparations for the second phase of its plan to consolidate weapons north of the Litani River, reaching from the south to the Bekaa. About a week ago, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle between Masnaa and Jdaidit Yabws. The Israeli army claimed the strike killed four members of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. 

The latest escalation underscores the fragility of the ceasefire and the risk of further spillover across multiple regions of Lebanon.