BEQAA VALLEY, Lebanon — Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese town of Budai in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanese officials said on Wednesday.
The strikes targeted areas in and around Budai, west of Baalbek, according to Lebanon's National News Agency and local security sources. Details on the exact timing, number of strikes and casualties remained unclear immediately after the incident.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli warplanes conducted operations in the outskirts of Budai and nearby areas including Shmistar. The Israeli military has not immediately commented on the strikes. Israel has previously described similar operations in the Beqaa Valley as targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure, such as weapons sites and tunnels.
The incident comes amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon-Israel border. The Beqaa Valley has been a repeated focus of Israeli strikes in recent months, with the area long alleged by Israel to house Hezbollah arms depots and command facilities.
Lebanon's Health Ministry and local officials have in past incidents attributed civilian casualties to such operations. Precise casualty figures for Wednesday's strikes were not immediately available. Earlier strikes in the region have killed both Lebanese and Syrian nationals, according to Lebanese reports.
A Lebanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes hit barren areas near the town. Videos circulating on social media showed smoke rising from the area, but their authenticity could not be independently verified.
Hezbollah has not issued an immediate statement on the Budai strikes. The group has previously vowed to respond to Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory.
The strikes follow a fragile ceasefire agreed earlier this year that has been repeatedly tested by cross-border incidents. Both sides have accused the other of violations.
Israeli officials have maintained that operations in eastern Lebanon are necessary to degrade Hezbollah's capabilities and prevent threats to Israeli territory. Lebanese authorities have condemned the incursions as aggression against sovereign territory.
As of late Wednesday, rescue teams were assessing damage in the Budai area, local media reported. No further details on the ground situation were immediately confirmed by independent sources.
