Israeli attacks Northeast Lebanon for the first time

Shafaq News/ Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes near the northeast Lebanese towns of Ras Baabelk and Hermel on Tuesday, according to four security sources informed Reuters.

The attack marks the furthest bombardment from the southern border, where Hezbollah has been engaged in exchanges of fire with Israel.

Israel confirmed the airstrikes, stating that its aircraft targeted "a number of military sites used by Hezbollah in response to a rocket attack on one of its bases near the Lebanese border."

The Israeli army, in a statement, reported that "warplanes conducted airstrikes deep inside Lebanon, specifically in the Zboud area, targeting a military compound used by Hezbollah's air unit. This action was in response to earlier firing operations towards the vicinity of the Air Force Control Unit headquarters in the Maroun al-Ras area, where an airstrip and several other military buildings belonging to the party were attacked."

The statement also noted that "during the day, warplanes targeted a military building and infrastructure near the village of Ayta ash-Shab and in the vicinity of Kafr Kila. An intelligence site belonging to the Hezbollah organization in the Maroun al-Ras area was also attacked."

Rocket alerts were sounded in northern Israel throughout Tuesday.

Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for targeting an Israeli military barracks in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with 50 Katyusha rockets in response to Israel's strikes on the Bekaa Valley.

The ongoing exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have escalated since October, representing the most significant cross-border violence since their month-long war in 2006.

Despite efforts to contain the situation, Hezbollah insists on not negotiating until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

Hezbollah, a key ally of Iran in its "Axis of Resistance," possesses a substantial arsenal, including more than 100,000 rockets capable of targeting all areas of Israel, according to its Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.