ISTANBUL

Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa province on Friday, in another violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon’s National News Agency NNA reported that “hostile (Israeli) aircraft bombed the Shaara area in Bekaa and flew at low altitude, causing panic among residents,” with no immediate reports of human or material losses.

For its part, the Israeli army claimed in a statement that “a short while ago, the (Israeli army) struck a Hezbollah site in the Beqaa area of Lebanon used to manufacture precision missiles.”

As of 1200GMT, Hezbollah had not issued a comment on the Israeli army’s statement.

A ceasefire was reached in November 2024 following a year-long cycle of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel that began in October 2023. The conflict escalated into a full-scale Israeli offensive by September 2024, resulting in more than 4,000 deaths and around 17,000 injuries.

Under the terms of the truce, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 2025. However, it has so far only partially pulled out troops and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.