Israeli airstrikes in eastern and southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people Friday, Lebanese officials said, marking one of the deadliest days since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire slowed but did not end months of cross-border fighting.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 10 people were killed and 24 wounded — including three children — in strikes targeting the Bekaa Valley. Two others died earlier in the day when an Israeli strike hit the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the southern port city of Sidon.
The Israeli military said it targeted “command centers” belonging to Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley. There was no immediate response from Hezbollah.
Footage aired by local television from one of the strike sites in Bekaa showed an apartment building reduced to rubble as emergency crews battled flames and searched debris for survivors.
Earlier Friday, the Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas command center” in Ein el-Hilweh. Hamas acknowledged that two of its members were killed but rejected Israel’s description of the site, calling the allegation of a command center a “flimsy pretext.” The group said the building housed a joint Palestinian security force tasked with maintaining order in the camp.
The latest strikes come against the backdrop of sustained hostilities that began after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel ignited war in Gaza. The day after that assault, Hezbollah began launching rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel in what it described as solidarity with Palestinians.
Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery fire. The tit-for-tat exchanges eventually escalated into a broader conflict in September 2024 before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire two months later curtailed — but did not eliminate — the fighting.
Since that agreement, Israel has carried out near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon, asserting they target Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure. Hezbollah has claimed only one strike against Israel during that period.
Friday’s toll stands out as unusually high in the months since the truce took effect.
In a separate development earlier this week, Israeli forces seized a local official affiliated with al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, a Sunni Islamist group allied with Hamas, during an operation in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported. The Israeli military confirmed it detained an Islamic Group official during what it described as a targeted intelligence operation but did not release the individual’s name.
Lebanon’s National News Agency identified the detainee as Atwi Atwi, a local figure within al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, taken from the village of Hebbarieh near the Israeli border.
The Islamic Group condemned the detention, accusing Israel of ongoing violations of Lebanese sovereignty and urging the Lebanese government to secure his release.
Also Monday, a drone strike in the southern village of Yanouh killed three people, including a 3-year-old child, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. The Israeli military later stated it had targeted Hezbollah artillery official Ahmad Salami and acknowledged it was reviewing claims that civilians were among the dead.
The violence unfolds amid rising regional strain as the United States weighs possible military action against Iran if negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program collapse. Iran provides support to both Hezbollah and Hamas, and any escalation involving Tehran could have cascading effects across Lebanon.
During last year’s direct hostilities between Israel and Iran, Hezbollah largely refrained from entering the conflict in full force. However, many Lebanese fear renewed confrontation could draw the country deeper into a broader regional war.
The previous Israel-Hezbollah war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion in damage, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people were killed, including 80 soldiers.
Friday’s strikes underscore how fragile the current ceasefire remains. Although large-scale ground combat has subsided, Israel’s continued air campaign suggests a strategy aimed at preventing Hezbollah from reconstituting its capabilities along the border.
For Hezbollah, calibrated responses have allowed it to signal defiance without triggering a return to full-scale war. That balance, however, is increasingly delicate. High-casualty incidents risk provoking retaliatory action that could spiral beyond the contained exchanges seen in recent months.
The targeting of sites in both the Bekaa Valley and a Palestinian refugee camp also illustrates the interconnected nature of militant networks in Lebanon. Hamas maintains a presence in camps such as Ein el-Hilweh, while Hezbollah operates extensively in eastern Lebanon. Israeli operations appear designed to disrupt both groups simultaneously.
At the same time, the detention of an Islamic Group official broadens the scope of Israel’s actions beyond Hezbollah, potentially complicating Lebanon’s internal political dynamics. Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, Lebanon’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has an armed wing known as the Fajr Forces, which joined Hezbollah in launching cross-border rockets after the Gaza war began.
With the Trump administration signaling potential military action against Iran, developments in Lebanon take on heightened importance. Any strike on Iranian targets could prompt Hezbollah or allied factions to intensify attacks against Israel, placing Lebanon once again at the center of a regional confrontation.
For civilians in border towns and refugee camps, the renewed violence revives memories of last year’s devastation. Despite diplomatic efforts, the pattern of targeted strikes, retaliatory threats and fragile restraint suggests that the line between contained hostilities and renewed war remains perilously thin.
The Associated Press original
