Israel also hits underground depots and a bunker on the border with Syria
BEIRUT, February 20. /TASS/. 12 Hezbollah militants were killed and dozens more were wounded after Israeli raids on Hezbollah targets in eastern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported, citing medical sources.
The strikes were delivered on Hezbollah headquarters and field camp in the Beqaa Valley. Witnesses say that Hezbollah commander Rafik Heydar was among those killed.
Powerful explosions rocked a mountainous area on the border with Syria where Israel hit underground depots and bunker near the city of Nabi Chit.
Commenting on the raids, Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee said that “Hezbollah systematically places its assets within civilian population centers in violation of the understandings, exploiting the residents and using them as human shields,” considering that “the activity in the targeted headquarters in Baalbek constitutes a breach of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a threat to the State of Israel.”
South Lebanon
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces had “struck a Hamas command centre from which terrorists operated” in response to “repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings”.
Hamas condemned the attack, which it said led to “civilian” casualties.
NNA reported that the strike on the refugee camp caused “significant damage” to a building that had previously been used by the joint Palestinian force responsible for the camp’s security, but was now being rented by an individual to “operate a kitchen distributing food aid”.
Last November, Israel conducted a major raid on Ein el-Helweh that killed 13 people, including 11 children, according to the United Nations rights office.
The military said it was targeting Hamas, who called the claim a “fabrication”, stressing the group does not have training facilities in Lebanon’s refugee camps.
The Israeli army announced, in a series of urgent statements, that it may resort to using the navy when additional firepower is needed in other arenas such as Lebanon or Yemen, especially if the air force is engaged in activity against Iran or in national defense missions.
More than 10,000 attacks since truce
Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with the Hezbollah armed group.
According to the UN, the Israeli military launched more than 10,000 air and ground attacks in the year since it agreed to halt hostilities.
The UN rights office said in November last year that it verified at least 108 civilian casualties from Israeli attacks since the ceasefire, including at least 21 women and 16 children.
Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN last month about the repeated Israeli violations, urging the UN Security Council to push Israel to end its attacks and fully withdraw from the country.
Israel continues to occupy five areas in Lebanese territory, blocking the reconstruction of destroyed border villages and preventing tens of thousands of displaced people from returning to their homes.
On Sunday, Lebanon said an Israeli strike near the Syrian border in the country’s east killed four people, as Israel said it targeted operatives from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group in Lebanon.
TASS/ ALJAZEERA
