ISTANBUL

Eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the town of Shaath in eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek district, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, in the latest escalation in a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.

The ministry gave no details on the identities of the casualties and whether civilians are among them.

The attack follows several Israeli airstrikes targeting various areas of Lebanon in recent days amid intensifying military exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah on multiple fronts.

The latest strike took place in the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, an area that has witnessed rising security tensions as the scope of confrontations between the two sides has expanded.

Hezbollah meanwhile announced that it has escalated its operations against Israel, increasing the pace of rocket launches toward Israeli territory.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it targeted Israel’s Kiryat Shmona and Nahariya settlements with rocket fire. The group also said it struck the Amiyad base north of the Sea of Galilee and the Shimshon base west of the lake.

Hezbollah added that it launched dozens of rockets toward the Misgav base and the Yodfat military industry company northeast of the city of Haifa.

In an earlier statement, Hezbollah said it had launched an operation against Israel named Chewed Crops.

IRGC announces joint Iran-Hezbollah strikes on Israel

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out a joint missile operation against Israel in coordination with Hezbollah.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency published a statement from the IRGC saying military bases in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba were targeted in the attacks.

According to the IRGC, the operation lasted about five hours and struck around 50 targets, with the Iranian force using Qadr, Emad, Kheibar Shekan, and Fattah missiles, while Hezbollah used drones and missiles.

The statement also claimed that US bases in the region, including Al-Azraq and Al-Kharj, were struck by IRGC missiles.

US President Donald Trump said in remarks to reporters that the US believes it is necessary to “get rid of Hezbollah,” referring to the group’s role in the ongoing confrontation.

The escalating exchanges have raised concerns of a wider conflict in Lebanon and the region as continued military strikes and rising tensions threaten to push the situation into a more dangerous phase.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon

According to the Israeli army, sirens were activated in northern Israel on March 2 after a missile launch from Lebanon was detected.

Later, the Israeli army announced it had launched airstrikes across Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, and later decided to expand its ground invasion while carrying out intensive attacks by air and sea.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that since March 2, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 634 people and injured 1,586 others.

The Lebanese government also reported that 816,700 people have applied for shelter centers since March 2.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Demir in Istanbul