Lebanon Says 12 Dead In Israeli Strikes On East, South

2026-02-20 11:25:03

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Lebanon said Israeli strikes on the country's east and south killed 12 people on Friday, with Israel's army saying it targeted Hezbollah and its Palestinian ally Hamas.

A statement from Hezbollah in the eastern Bekaa Valley said a "commander" from the Iran-backed group had been killed in the raids there.

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Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, usually saying it is targeting the group but occasionally also Hamas members.

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"Israeli enemy strikes" on several locations in the Bekaa Valley "killed 10 people and wounded 24", Lebanon's health ministry said, adding that three children were among the wounded.

The state-run National News Agency had earlier reported six dead and 25 wounded after "heavy strikes" hit in the region.

Israel's army said in a statement that it hit "Hezbollah command centres".

The raids came hours after an Israeli strike on the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people, according to the health ministry, with Israel's army saying it had targeted Hamas.

The NNA said "an Israeli drone" targeted a neighbourhood of the Ain al-Helweh camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.

An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene.

Hamas

The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces "struck a Hamas command centre from which terrorists operated" in the Ain al-Helweh area.

The Israeli military "is operating against the entrenchment" of the Palestinian militant group in Lebanon and will "continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate," it added.

Hamas in a statement condemned the attack, which it said led to "civilian" casualties.

It rejected Israel's allegations as "flimsy pretexts", saying the targeted building "belongs to the joint security force charged with maintaining security and stability in the camp".

A raid on Ain al-Helweh last November that Israel said targeted a Hamas training compound killed 13 people.

The UN rights office had said 11 children were killed in that strike, while Hamas denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the outset of the Gaza war, triggering hostilities that culminated in two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

Lebanon's government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, and the army said last month that it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area near the Israeli border.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticised the army's progress as insufficient.