BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Monday, killing at least two Hezbollah members in its deepest attack into Lebanese territory since hostilities erupted with the Iran-backed group last October, sources in Lebanon said.

Underlining the risks of escalation, Hezbollah responded byfiring 60 rockets at an Israeli army headquarters in theIsraeli-occupied Golan Heights, the group’s al-Manar televisionreported. An Israeli army spokesperson said dozens of rocketswere fired towards the Golan Heights from Lebanon.

The attacks marked an intensification of the worst violencebetween the heavily armed Hezbollah and Israel since their 2006war, fuelling concern of the potential for further escalationand regional spillover of the Gaza war.

The Israeli army said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollahair defences in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing ofan Israeli drone, which Hezbollah said it had shot down with asurface-to-air missile earlier on Monday.

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The airstrikes hit part of the Bekaa Valley region near theSyrian border which is a political stronghold of the Shi’iteHezbollah. The targeted area was some 18 km (11 miles)from the city of Baalbek, which is known for its ancient ruins.

The sources said Israel had carried out simultaneous strikesin the area. A Lebanese security source and a source familiarwith the matter said two Hezbollah members had been killed.

Lebanese television station Al-Jadeed broadcast images ofplumes of smoke rising from the area.

In a separate attack, an Israeli airstrike hit a car in thetown of Mjadel in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah fieldcommander, three security sources in Lebanon said.

Israel’s military posted a video of the strike and saidthe target was Hassan Hossein Salami, who it said had beenresponsible for activities including missile launches directedat Israel.

Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said Israel hadwidened its strikes by hitting Baalbek and other areas, and wasseeking to “compensate” for the downing of its drone.

“Its aggression on Baalbek or any other areas will notremain without response,” he said in televised remarks deliveredat the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter killed in recent days.

The Israeli military said it would “continue operating todefend the State of Israel from the threat of Hezbollahterrorist organization, including in aerial operations aboveLebanese territory”.

Hezbollah has been waging a campaign of attacks on targets at the border with Israel since the Oct. 7 raid from the Gaza Strip by its Palestinian ally Hamas. Hezbollah describes it as an effort to support Palestinians under Israeli fire in Gaza.

Israel says to ‘increase the fire’ on hezbollah

The hostilities have largely played out in areas near theLebanese-Israeli border, but last week widened when Israel struck an area just south of the coastal city of Sidon.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.

“If a temporary pause is reached in Gaza, we will increase the fire in the north separately, and will continue until the full withdrawal of Hezbollah [from the border] and the return of Israeli citizens to their homes,” he said.

However, he left the door open to diplomacy. “The goal is simple - to withdraw Hezbollah to where it should be - either via a agreement, or we will do it by force,” he said in the statement sent from his office.

The violence has uprooted tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah said earlier on Monday it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over Lebanese territory with a surface-to-air missile.

The Israeli military said two missile launches had targeted an Israeli Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle operating over Lebanon. The first, it said, was intercepted by Israel’s “David’s Sling” Aerial Defense System but the drone “fell inside Lebanese territory” after a second launch.

Israeli strikes since October have killed some 50 civilians in Lebanon, in addition to some 200 Hezbollah fighters.

Attacks from Lebanon into Israel have killed a dozen Israeli soldiers troops and five civilians.