At least 12 people were killed and more than 30 injured, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, after a new Israeli violation saw airstrikes hit Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, escalating tensions despite a fragile ceasefire.
An Israeli airstrike struck a building in the town of Riyaq in the Baalbek district, completely destroying it and trapping victims beneath the rubble. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that 12 people were killed and more than 30 injured in a preliminary toll, with search and rescue operations still underway.
Israeli warplanes carried out a series of strikes across the Baalbek district on Friday evening.
In addition to the building in Riyaq, aircraft targeted the plains of Qasr Naba and Tamnine al Tahta, as well as the Shaara area along the foothills of the eastern Lebanon mountain range. The strikes marked one of the deadliest days since a ceasefire was reached in November 2024.
The Iran-backed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah later announced the death of one of its leaders, Hussein Mohammad Yaghi, following the strikes.
Two security sources said senior Hezbollah leader Hussein Yaghi was killed in the attacks. Yaghi is the son of former Hezbollah MP Mohammad Yaghi, and his funeral is set to take place on Saturday, according to Hezbollah-linked media.
Local television footage from one of the strike sites showed an apartment building reduced to rubble. Emergency crews were seen firefighting and searching for survivors as smoke rose from the debris. The toll was described as unusually high compared to other recent incidents.
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Earlier on Friday, another Israeli strike hit a Palestinian refugee camp in the port city of Sidon, killing two people.
The Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas command centre” in the Ain el Hilweh camp. Hamas acknowledged that two of its members had been killed in the strike but said the claim it was a “flimsy pretext” and that the targeted building belonged to a joint security force made up of various Palestinian factions tasked with maintaining security in the camp.
Political response
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks and warned they risked undermining diplomatic efforts. He said the ongoing Israeli attacks “constitute a blatant hostile act aimed at undermining diplomatic efforts undertaken by Lebanon with sisterly and friendly countries, foremost among them the United States, to consolidate stability and halt Israeli hostilities against Lebanon.”
Aoun added that the raids “represent a new violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and a clear breach of international obligations,” and reflect “a disregard for the will of the international community, particularly UN resolutions calling for full compliance with Resolution 1701 and its complete implementation.”
He renewed his call on countries sponsoring regional stability to “assume their responsibilities to immediately halt the attacks and exert pressure to ensure respect for international resolutions, in a manner that preserves Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and spares the region further escalation and tension.”
The latest strikes come amid repeated Israeli violations of the November 2024 ceasefire, which had been brokered by the United States after months of escalating violence. Israel has accused Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild its capabilities, and has carried out near daily strikes that it says target militants and facilities.
After 7 October 2023, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The conflict escalated into full scale war in September 2024 before being reined in by the ceasefire two months later.
The renewed violence comes at a moment of heightened tension across the region, with the United States threatening to strike Iran if negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme fail. Many in Lebanon fear the country could be pulled into a broader confrontation if another war breaks out.
