Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Israel-Lebanon relations have been tense. The cross-border conflict between Israel and Lebanon has caused nearly 281 deaths, mostly on the Lebanese side, of which most were Hezbollah fighters.
On Monday morning, Israeli warplanes attacked Hezbollah targets in the Baalbek Valley, East of Lebanon. According to media reports, two Hezbollah members have been killed in the air strike on a building in the region.
The attack took place just hours after an Israeli drone was shot down by Hezbollah in South Lebanon. Later, Hezbollah fighters launched 60 rockets towards an Israeli military base.
It was the deepest attack on Lebanese territory by the Israeli military.
As a response to the Israeli military actions, Hezbollah members have threatened to counter Israel by saying any aggression towards Baalbek or any other area will not go down without being answered.
Israeli officials have said that the airstrikes were retaliation against the Hezbollah surface-to-air missile attacks.
The recent clashes between Israel and Lebanon have proven to be the most tense period since the start of the Gaza War last year in October. The air strike comes after Israel eliminated Hezbollah’s commander Wissam Tawil last month, the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces. He was the seniormost Hezbollah officer to be killed since the war began.
Amidst discussions of a truce between Israel and Hamas, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated that actions against Hezbollah will not be curbed in the northern border region. “The goal is simple — to push Hezbollah back to where it should be. Either by an agreement or by force,” he said. While the Hezbollah leaders have said that it is willing to stop its attacks on the Israeli military if the war in Gaza is ended.
Nitish Chavan
