Israel reportedly carried out airstrikes in the Baalbek region of Lebanon on Wednesday, dozens of miles north of the border, in an apparent response to a drone attack by Hezbollah on a military base near Tiberias earlier in the day.
אחרי התקיפה - פיצוצי משנה באזור בעלבכ. אולי מחסן תחמושת pic.twitter.com/5fd9C7pciv
— Shachar Kleiman שחר קליימן (@skleiman5791) May 15, 2024
Israeli media said a drone exploded near a major nearby traffic junction, causing damage but no casualties. According to Israel's public broadcaster Kann, authorities warned locals that another drone could be circling overheard, ahead of impact. The Israeli military had no immediate comment, though it did sound air-raid sirens in a village west of Tiberias earlier on Wednesday.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Hezbollah's claims, though it had sounded air-raid sirens in the area earlier on Wednesday after reports of a drone explosion near a major traffic junction, causing damage but no casualties. Hezbollah said it had targeted part of a surveillance system used by the Israeli air force, and that the swarm of attack drones "hit its limited targets accurately and accomplished what it wanted in this limited operation."
The cross-border exchange comes a day after an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon. Israel said he was responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians and territory throughout the Gaza conflict.
More than 260 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon over the last seven months as the militant group opens a new front against Israel while allied with Hamas.
