Israel launches new round of air strikes against Hizbollah targets

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Israel launched air strikes near the north-eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, targeting what it said were Hizbollah sites in the second attack by Israeli forces deep inside Lebanon in two weeks.

The strikes late on Monday killed at least one person and wounded several others, said Bashir Khader, the governor of Baalbek.

The Israel Defense Forces said its war planes targeted sites used by Iranian-backed Hizbollah’s “aerial forces that planned and carried out various attacks” against Israel.

It said the strikes were in retaliation for Hizbollah attacks launched towards the occupied Golan Heights, as almost daily clashes between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group have intensified.

Israel and Hizbollah have engaged in tit-for-tat attacks since Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas and launching a retaliatory offensive against the Palestinian militant group in Gaza that has killed more than 30,000 people, according to health officials in the enclave.

The war has triggered a wave of hostilities across the Middle East. The clashes between Israeli forces and Hizbollah have mostly focused on the border areas in Lebanon and Israel.

But in recent weeks, Israel has expanded its targets, striking the Lebanese town of Ghaziyeh, about 5km south of the coastal city of Sidon, as well as Jadra, a city just 30km south of the capital Beirut, and locations near Baalbek.

The hostilities have forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border from their homes and raised mounting concerns about the risks of a provocation or miscalculation by either party sparking a full-blown conflict.

The fighting has killed more than 200 people in Lebanon, most of them Hizbollah fighters.

At least seven Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers have been…