Israel strikes Hezbollah site in east Lebanon

A general view shows a destroyed building targeted by Israeli air strikes on the village of Nabi Sheet in the Baablbek district in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on Sunday, as tensions in the region soared after Iran directly attacked Israel. Picture: AFP)

A general view shows a destroyed building targeted by Israeli air strikes on the village of Nabi Sheet in the Baablbek district in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on Sunday, as tensions in the region soared after Iran directly attacked Israel. Picture: AFP)

Published Apr 14, 2024

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Israel Sunday struck a Hezbollah site in Lebanon's east near the Syrian border, the Israeli army and a source from the Iran-backed group said, as tensions soared after Iran directly attacked Israel.

The Hezbollah source told AFP that "the Israeli strike targeted an area... near Baalbek and targeted a two-storey building belonging to Hezbollah," adding there were no casualties.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that "an enemy air strike targeted a building" in the village of Nabi Sheet and "destroyed it".

An AFP photographer at the site saw the concrete and steel wreckage of the building, levelled in the attack.

The Israeli army said in a statement that in response to launches overnight, "fighter jets struck a significant Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site" in the Nabi Sheet area "deep inside Lebanon".

Earlier Sunday, Hezbollah said it had twice launched barrages of rockets towards the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, after it joined in the major Iranian drone and missile attack against Israel.

The Iranian attack was in response to an April 1 air strike widely blamed on Israel that destroyed an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, killing seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.

Hamas ally Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7 triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

The violence, which has largely been contained to the border area, has so far killed at least 363 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

In Israel, the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes on both sides of the border.

AFP