Israeli Strikes in Lebanon

Israeli strikes on eastern Lebanon killed two people , a security source and an official said, in escalating tit-for-tat fire with the powerful Hezbollah group that has raised fears of spiraling violence.

Since the Gaza war erupted in October, Hamas ally Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire across their shared border, including several recent Israeli strikes on Hezbollah further north.

A Lebanese security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said two people were killed and 12 others wounded in strikes.

The strikes destroyed a building in Sarain, less than 20 kilometers from eastern Lebanon's Baalbek, a key Hezbollah bastion near the border with Syria.

Another strike hit a building in the nearby town of Nabi Sheet, the source added.

The Israeli army said in a statement that "fighter jets struck two Hezbollah military command centers in the area of Baalbek, deep inside Lebanon", adding that Hezbollah used the sites to store "significant assets used to strengthen its weapons arsenal".

The army said the strikes came in retaliation for Hezbollah rocket "launches toward northern Israel".

Hezbollah had said it launched "more than a hundred Katyusha rockets" at two military bases in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights "in response to Israeli attacks... most recently near the city of Baalbek".

The Israeli military had said its jets had hit two sites belonging to "Hezbollah's aerial forces" in retaliation for strikes on the occupied Golan Heights over several days.

Since hostilities began, at least 319 people, mainly Hezbollah fighters but also at least 54 civilians, have been killed in Lebanon.

At least 233 Hezbollah fighters have been killed by Israeli fire since hostilities began, mostly in Lebanon but also including 16 in neighboring Syria.