At least 12 killed in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah command centres in Lebanon | World News

According to the news of the Times of Israel, based on Lebanese officials, after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they targeted Hezbollah command centers, it was reported that at least 10 people were killed and approximately 50 people were injured in Israel’s air strikes in eastern Lebanon. Two more people were reported killed in a separate attack on Hamas targets in southern Lebanon.

The attacks were among the deadliest since a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in November 2024.

The IDF said in a statement that it hit three Hezbollah command centers belonging to the group’s missile force in the Baalbek region of the Bekaa Valley. The military said the strikes eliminated “large numbers of operatives” who allegedly worked to accelerate force build-up from Hezbollah’s missile array and planned rocket fire and terrorist attacks against Israel.

Hezbollah later announced that eight militants were killed in the attacks, including Hussein Mohammed Yaghi, whom it described as a “commander”, indicating a senior position within the group. Hezbollah said these men were killed “while defending Lebanon and its people during Israel’s treacherous attack on the Bekaa region.”

Speaking at a protest in Beirut broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al Manar network, senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qamati described the attacks as “a new massacre” and said the group’s only option was “resistance”.

“What option do we have left to defend ourselves and our country? Do we have any option other than resistance?” said Qamati.

According to the Times of Israel, the IDF claimed that Hezbollah’s missile forces were actively planning rocket and missile attacks against Israel and that their activities amounted to a violation of the ceasefire agreements reached in November 2024.

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials said that an Israeli drone strike targeted the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern coastal city of Sidon, killing two people. The IDF said the attack targeted the Hamas command center, where militants were allegedly gathering to advance attacks on Israeli forces.

Lebanon’s health ministry said the two people killed were identified by Hamas as members of the group.

According to the IDF, this facility had been used in recent months by Hamas operatives to prepare terrorist activities and training aimed at carrying out attacks against Israeli troops and civilians. The military also accused Hamas of placing its infrastructure in civilian areas and using residents as human shields, adding that this activity violated the November 2024 ceasefire, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas condemned the attack on Ain al-Hilwah, denying Israel’s claims and asserting that the targeted area belonged to the Joint Security Force responsible for providing security for the camp.

Israel has repeatedly said it took action to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities following a ceasefire that ended more than a year of fighting. The ceasefire followed two months of open conflict, including Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon aimed at halting almost daily rocket attacks that began on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.