Shafaq News- Beirut

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Saturday that eight of its members, including senior figure Hussein Mohammad Yaghi, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Beqaa Valley a day earlier, according to a statement issued by the group.

The Israeli military said it carried out strikes on three sites belonging to Hezbollah within civilian population centers in the Beqaa, targeting infrastructure linked to the group’s missile system.

The strikes left at least 10 people dead and more than 24 wounded.

Hours earlier that day, Israeli strikes targeted Ain al-Hilweh, the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, killing two people. The Israeli military alleged it had targeted a site belonging to Hamas, while Hamas affirmed that the strike resulted in civilian casualties.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Monday considered the Lebanese government’s focus on disarming the group a “major mistake,” arguing that such efforts serve Israel’s objectives. “Hezbollah does not want war and does not seek it, but would not surrender and remains ready to defend Lebanon,” Qassem said.

The Lebanese army completed in January the first phase of the five-phase security plan covering the area near the Israeli border up to the Litani River in southern Lebanon. The second phase covers the area from north of the Litani River to the Awali River, which flows into the Mediterranean north of Saida, about 40 kilometers south of Beirut, and according to the government, it needs at least four months to be implemented.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticized the army’s progress and described it as insufficient.