Israeli airstrikes expanded across Lebanon on Thursday, targeting locations from the south to the far north of the country as regional tensions continued to escalate, according to security sources.
The intensified campaign followed the expiration of a 24-hour ultimatum issued by Israel calling on Iranian officials and commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to leave Lebanon.
Israeli authorities had warned that broader military action could follow if the deadline was ignored.
Strikes Hit Beirut, Zahle and Northern Lebanon
Israeli warplanes widened their operations beyond their earlier focus on the southern suburbs of Beirut, widely considered a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Overnight strikes hit several locations, including a busy highway along Beirut’s airport road. Two vehicles were reportedly struck shortly after midnight, according to local residents who described loud explosions and thick smoke rising from the area.
On Thursday morning, another Israeli strike targeted a car in the eastern Lebanese city of Zahle.
A photographer at the scene reported seeing two charred bodies removed from the vehicle.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said the strike on the Zahle–Karak highway killed two people and injured two others.
Elsewhere, Israeli attacks reportedly reached the Beddawi Refugee Camp in northern Lebanon, one of the furthest northern locations hit since the latest escalation began.
Security sources said the strike killed a senior official from Hamas.
Earlier, the Israeli military warned residents of a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate, saying the site was being used by Hezbollah as a base and could be targeted.
Late Wednesday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had struck multiple Hezbollah rocket and missile launch sites as well as a drone production facility near the Israeli border, though the claims could not be independently verified.
Hezbollah-Israel Clashes Intensify
The renewed hostilities came after Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel earlier this week following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in what regional reports described as a joint U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran.
As the war involving Iran entered its sixth day, the conflict has increasingly spilled over into neighbouring countries.
Lebanese security sources reported sustained Israeli airstrikes on the southern market town of Nabatieh and nearby villages, areas Israel claims host operational positions belonging to Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also reported that Israeli warplanes bombed a house at the northern entrance of Zawtar al-Sharqiya at dawn, killing a family of four.
Hezbollah later said it had carried out several attacks against Israeli forces as the fighting intensified.
According to a Lebanese security official, Israeli ground troops have already entered at least nine towns near the southern border amid the widening confrontation.
Hezbollah Vows Continued Resistance
In his first public address since the escalation began, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem condemned the Israeli strikes as “premeditated aggression” and vowed the group would continue its response.
“We will not surrender, no matter the sacrifices,” Qassem said.
The expanding air campaign and cross-border clashes signal a growing risk that the conflict between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran could draw more of the region into a broader war.
