Lebanon media says 2 dead in fresh Israeli strikes on east

March 27, 2024 12:40 AM

Lebanese official media said fresh Israeli strikes on eastern Lebanon on Tuesday killed two people, after the deepest raid since cross-border hostilities erupted amid the Gaza war.

The Israeli army said in two separate statements that it had struck "deep inside Lebanese territory".

Israeli forces have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Hezbollah following the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Hamas after the Gaza-based militants' October 7 attack on Israel.

Hezbollah says it is acting in support of its ally Hamas, while Israel has also targeted Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Lebanon, including with strikes deep into Lebanon.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "an Israeli strike" targeted near Iaat, close to the eastern city of Baalbek, killing two people and wounding another.

In recent days, Israeli strikes have targeted the Bekaa valley, a Hezbollah bastion deep inside Lebanese territory, where Baalbek and Iaat are located.

An AFP correspondent saw a building belonging to Hezbollah in flames and two people being taken away on stretchers, with a number of ambulances rushing to the scene.

Hours earlier, the NNA said "an Israeli strike targeted the Wadi Faara region" near the northeastern city of Hermel, reporting the sound of explosions.

An AFP correspondent said the army and Hezbollah had blocked access to the area, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the Israeli frontier -- the deepest raid into Lebanese territory in more than five months of hostilities.