At least 12 people were martyred and around 25 others wounded on Friday evening after a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple areas in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa region, amid escalating cross-border tensions.

According to local reports, the attacks struck the towns of Rayaq, Bednayel, Qasrnaba, and Tamneen, spreading panic among civilians and causing extensive damage to residential and surrounding areas. Israeli warplanes reportedly carried out the bombardment in what witnesses described as a heavy and coordinated assault.

The Israeli army claimed that it had targeted “Hezbollah command centers” in the Baalbek area of Beqaa. However, Lebanese sources indicated that the strikes resulted in civilian casualties in addition to the reported death of a military commander affiliated with Hezbollah. A Hezbollah source told AFP that one of the group’s commanders was among those martyred in the attack.

Earlier the same day, Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed that at least three Palestinians were killed in a separate Israeli attack on the Ein el-Hilweh camp — the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp — located near the southern city of Sidon.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone targeted the Hittin neighborhood within the camp. The strike reportedly caused significant destruction to a building that had previously served as a base for the joint Palestinian security force overseeing camp affairs.

According to NNA, the building was no longer being used for security purposes and had instead been rented by a private individual to operate a kitchen distributing food aid to camp residents — many of whom rely heavily on humanitarian assistance due to longstanding socio-economic hardship.

The Israeli military claimed the strike targeted a Hamas command center operating inside the camp. However, the Hamas Movement denied that the building belonged to it, rejecting Israel’s assertion and emphasizing that the targeted site was civilian in nature.

The attacks come amid continued Israeli strikes in various parts of Lebanon, raising fears of a broader escalation in the region. Civil defense teams and medical crews were deployed to the targeted areas in Beqaa and Sidon, as residents rushed to assist in rescue efforts.

Lebanese officials have repeatedly warned that such strikes risk dragging the country into a wider conflict, particularly as refugee camps and civilian neighborhoods increasingly come under fire.

As of late Friday, rescue operations were ongoing in the affected areas, with concerns that the death toll could rise. (ILKHA)