Tel Aviv, May 16 (IANS): Israel has carried out airstrikes in northeastern Lebanon’s Baalbek, considered a stronghold of the Hezbollah group.

The area is around 100 km from the Israeli border. The airstrike was in retaliation to the Hezbollah attack in northern Israel on Wednesday late night and Thursday early morning hours. However, the IDF did not reveal whether there were any casualties in the attack.

According to the media reports, multiple targets were hit in the Nabi Chit and Brital areas in the Baalbek area. This is considered the largest attack of the Israeli Army into the Baalbek area.

The Hezbollah had claimed that it had launched Kamikaze drones towards an IDF base in Tiberias in northern Israel. Sources in Israel's defence ministry said that a drone had exploded in Golani junction causing damages but without any casualties.

The Hezbollah had in a statement on Wednesday late night said that it had struck within Israel as a retaliation to the assassinations carried out by Israel.

A top Hezbollah commander Hussain Mekki was killed by the IDF drone attack in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. Mekki, according to Israel, was responsible for attacks on Israeli civilians since the ongoing war against Hamas commenced on October 7, 2023.