At least 2 killed in Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon

By Wassim Samih Seifeddine and Betul Yilmaz

BEIRUT / ISTANBUL (AA) – At least two people were killed when Israeli warplanes bombed several sites in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon on Thursday, Lebanese authorities said.

Fighter jets struck the outskirts of Janta on the eastern mountain range and extended to multiple sites on the outskirts of the town of Shmastar, west of Baalbek, the state news agency NNA reported.

The Health Ministry said the Israeli strikes killed one person in Janta, and another in Shmastar.

The attacks caused panic among high school students when the windows of a school building in the area were shattered due to the strikes, the agency said.

Israeli warplanes also flew at low altitude over the Beqaa Valley in the east, the NNA said.

The Israeli army, for its part, claimed that the strikes targeted a missile manufacturing site and a compound used by Hezbollah for training in the Beqaa region, and a military site in Sharbine in northern Lebanon.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.

Israel has repeatedly launched airstrikes in Lebanon on claims of targeting Hezbollah infrastructure despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect in November 2024.

Under the terms of the truce, the Israeli army was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 2025. However, it has so far only partially pulled out troops and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.