Hezbollah Claims Israeli Strike in Eastern Lebanon as War Enters Second Week
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 – Hezbollah reported on Monday that its fighters engaged in a confrontation with Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an Israeli airborne raid that took place overnight. This incident marks the second such operation in the area in recent days, as the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group enters its second week.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military did not provide an immediate response when asked about the Hezbollah statement. According to a statement from Hezbollah, its fighters “confronted the helicopters and the infiltrating forces with appropriate weapons.”
Lebanon became involved in the regional conflict when Hezbollah, which was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, launched attacks to avenge the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader. This action triggered a new Israeli offensive against the group.
The Israeli military continued its airstrikes in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, resulting in large plumes of smoke visible across the city. The military reiterated its warnings to residents to evacuate the area and announced plans to target a Hezbollah financial institution known as Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, nearly 400 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, including at least 83 children and 42 women. However, the toll does not specify whether the victims were combatants or civilians.
On Sunday, Israel’s military announced that two Israeli soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon, marking the first casualties in the Israeli army since the war began.
WIDENING TARGETS
In its statement, Hezbollah mentioned that its fighters observed 15 helicopters flying over eastern Lebanon just after midnight, dropping Israeli troops who were seen approaching Lebanese territory from an area near the Syrian border.
Eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley region is one of Hezbollah’s key political and security strongholds.
The Israeli military conducted an airborne raid in the same area, near the village of Nabi Chit, during the night of Friday to Saturday. Lebanon’s health ministry reported that 41 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Nabi Chit area on Saturday.
The Israeli military stated that this raid was aimed at locating the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator who went missing in Lebanon in 1986. However, no findings related to him were discovered.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon have fled their homes since the start of the war, primarily from the predominantly Shi’ite Muslim southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh.
Israel has also targeted areas outside these regions. On Sunday, an Israeli drone strike hit a hotel in Beirut’s seafront Rouche district. The Israeli military claimed the strike killed five senior commanders of what it described as the Lebanon Corps of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force.
Since the beginning of the war, Israel has deployed more troops into southern Lebanon, establishing forward defensive positions to protect against potential Hezbollah attacks into Israel. Israel had previously maintained soldiers at five positions in southern Lebanon since a war with Hezbollah in 2024.
