Israel strikes deep into northeast Lebanon

Israel said it struck Hezbollah targets in northeast Lebanon's Hermel area on Tuesday, the deepest raid since cross-border hostilities erupted in October with the Iran-backed group over the Israel-Hamas war.

Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas after the Gaza militants' October 7 attack, Israeli forces along the border with Lebanon have exchanged near-daily fire with the powerful Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah.

The group says it is acting in support of its ally Hamas, while Israel has also targeted Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Lebanon, including with strikes deep into Lebanese territory.


The Israeli military said its "fighter jets struck a landing area and several military structures inside a military compound used by Hezbollah's aerial unit in the area of Zboud, deep inside Lebanese territory".

Hezbollah has announced attacks on Israeli targets using drones in recent months.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said "an Israeli strike targeted the Wadi Faara region" near the city of Hermel, reporting the sound of explosions.

An AFP correspondent said the army and Hezbollah had blocked access to the area, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the Israeli frontier, and less than 30 kilometres from the Syrian border.

A Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the strikes targeted an uninhabited area where Hezbollah has positions.

Local governor Bashir Khodr said on social media that there were no casualties.

The Israeli military said the raid came in response to an attack on the army's "aerial control unit" in northern Israel earlier Tuesday.

It also said it struck Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon near the border.

Hezbollah claimed a string of attacks on Israeli targets Tuesday, including one with guided missiles it said targeted the Meron air control base in northern Israel.

In recent days, Israeli strikes have targeted the Bekaa valley, a Hezbollah bastion deep inside Lebanese territory, killing one.

Since the cross-border hostilities began, at least 328 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but including at least 57 civilians, according to an AFP count.

At least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to the military.

The hostilities have raised fears of all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which last went to war in 2006.