BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanon’s Hezbollah group attacked an Israeli military base near the border on Wednesday, wounding 14 soldiers in the latest in a series of retaliatory attacks, the Israeli military said.
Israel and Iran-backed Hamas ally Hezbollah have engaged in near-daily cross-border fire since the war in the Gaza Strip began when Palestinian fighters invaded southern Israel on October 7.
However, Hezbollah’s attacks in recent days have increased the use of explosive drones and wounded Israelis, and in recent weeks have advanced deep into Lebanon.
According to a Hezbollah official, Israeli forces attacked targets in eastern Lebanon, hours after attacking Arab al-Aramshe, a predominantly Arab village near Israel’s northern border.
Officials said a man was injured in an attack on a warehouse in the residential area of Iaat, near Baalbek.
The Israeli military stated its “fighter jets struck significant Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” used by the group’s air defence in the area of Baalbek.
Three drone strikes were reported by the official National News Agency in the area, a Hezbollah stronghold far from the border with Israel.
According to media reports, the warehouse that was hit stored vegetables and agricultural produce.
The Israeli military earlier said 14 soldiers were injured, including six seriously, in the strike on northern Israel.
Hezbollah said it launched “a combined attack with guided missiles and explosive drones on a new military reconnaissance command centre in Arab al-Aramshe”.
The Israeli army said that “a number of launches from Lebanon were identified crossing into the area of Arab al-Aramshe,” and Israel struck the sources of the fire.
Hezbollah stated that the attack came “in response to the enemy assassinating a number of resistance fighters in Ain Baal and Shehabiya” on Tuesday.
The violence in the region has killed at least 368 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 70 civilians.
In Israel, according to the military, 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed near the northern border since hostilities began.
