Israeli strikes in Lebanon leave at least 12 dead, dozens injured

Israeli attacks have once again torn through the fragile calm in Lebanon, killing at least 12 people across the country’s east and south in what officials describe as the latest breach of the November 2024 ceasefire with the armed group Hezbollah, the Al Jazeera reported.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that air strikes on the Bekaa Valley claimed at least six lives and wounded more than 25 others, the injured scattered across hospitals in the region. Hours later, the toll climbed grimly higher. An attack on a building in the town of Riyaq in the Bekaa governorate left “more than 10” dead and at least 30 wounded, according to updated figures. Rescue teams continued to sift through the debris in search of survivors, the air thick with dust and dread.

The Israeli military said it had targeted “Hezbollah command centres” in the Baalbek area of Bekaa. A source from Hezbollah told AFP that a military leader from the group was among those killed, underscoring the deepening shadow of escalation.

Earlier the same day, violence struck Lebanon’s south. The Ministry of Public Health confirmed that at least two people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Ein el-Hilweh camp — the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp — on the outskirts of Sidon. NNA reported that an Israeli drone targeted the Hittin neighbourhood, leaving behind shattered walls and shaken residents.

Israel’s army said it had struck a Hamas command centre operating from the camp, citing “repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings.” Hamas condemned the attack, saying it caused civilian casualties and rejecting Israel’s claims.

According to NNA, the strike inflicted significant damage on a building that had once housed the joint Palestinian security force for the camp, but was more recently rented by a private individual to run a kitchen distributing food aid — a stark symbol of humanitarian fragility caught in the crossfire.

The camp bears scars from previous violence. Last November, a major Israeli raid on Ein el-Hilweh killed 13 people, including 11 children, according to the United Nations rights office. Israel said at the time it was targeting Hamas, which dismissed the allegation as a “fabrication,” insisting it maintains no training facilities in Lebanon’s refugee camps.

Despite the ceasefire intended to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, strikes have continued with unsettling regularity. The United Nations says Israeli forces have carried out more than 10,000 air and ground attacks in the year since hostilities were meant to halt.

The UN rights office reported in November that it had verified at least 108 civilian casualties from Israeli attacks since the ceasefire — among them at least 21 women and 16 children — figures that underscore the human cost of the persistent violence.

Lebanon has lodged a complaint with the UN, urging the Security Council to press Israel to end its attacks and withdraw fully from Lebanese territory. Israel continues to occupy five areas inside Lebanon, a presence that Lebanese authorities say hampers reconstruction efforts and prevents tens of thousands of displaced families from returning home.

As recently as Sunday, another Israeli strike near the Syrian border in eastern Lebanon killed four people. Israel said it was targeting operatives from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group, adding yet another layer to a conflict that shows few signs of truly resting.