Israel's Response to Hezbollah Drone Attacks: 'Unprecedented' Airstrikes on the Group's Bases in Baalbek

Lebanese media reported hours after the announcement of a 'successful drone attack' on an Israeli airbase that the Israeli army targeted a Hezbollah base in Baalbek, northeastern Lebanon, with 'unprecedented' airstrikes. These reports indicated that the targeted base is located 100 kilometers inside Lebanese territory, describing the Israeli attack as the largest on the Baalbek area since the onset of hostilities on October 7. Lebanese media also reported that in addition to Baalbek, several targets in Nabi Sheet and Brital were hit by Israeli missiles. These Israeli attacks followed Hezbollah's claim on Wednesday that it had targeted a military base west of Tiberias in northern Israel with a drone and had 'successfully destroyed an Israeli Air Force reconnaissance system.' According to Reuters, this attack occurred at the deepest distance from the Lebanon-Israel border since Hezbollah's attacks began following the outbreak of the Gaza war. Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and groups known as Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Syria are among the proxy groups of the Islamic Republic in the region that have attacked the interests of Israel, the U.S., and their allies in the Middle East with Tehran's support in recent months. These groups claim they are attacking Israeli and U.S. interests in support of the people of Gaza. Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces party, criticized Hezbollah on May 2 for opening a battlefront with Israel in support of the Palestinian group Hamas, stating that this militia has harmed Lebanon without inflicting any damage on Israel. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department on Monday, May 17, identified the Islamic Republic as one of the major drivers of the conflict in Gaza and a factor of regional instability, stating: 'Iranian officials have significantly contributed to regional instability by financing Hamas and supporting this group, as well as financing and supporting Hezbollah and other proxy groups.' The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which has lasted over seven months, began with an attack by the Iran-backed Hamas group on southern Israel on October 7 of last year; an attack that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 individuals, most of whom were civilians, by Hamas forces and their allies.