Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Kill 12, Targeting Hezbollah and Hamas Command Centers
Israeli strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon killed 12 people on Feb. 20, 2026, according to Lebanese authorities. Israel said it targeted Hezbollah and Hamas command centers in the Bekaa Valley and Ain al-Helweh camp.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Israeli strikes on eastern and southern Lebanon left 12 people dead on Friday, according to Lebanese authorities, as Israel’s army said it targeted Hezbollah and its Palestinian ally Hamas.
Lebanon’s health ministry said “Israeli enemy strikes” on several locations in the Bekaa Valley killed 10 people and wounded 24, adding that three children were among the wounded.
Earlier, the state-run National News Agency reported six dead and 25 wounded after what it described as “heavy strikes” in the region.
A statement from Hezbollah in the eastern Bekaa Valley said a “commander” from the Iran-backed group had been killed in the raids there.
Israel’s army said in a statement that it hit “Hezbollah command centers”.
The raids in the east came hours after an Israeli strike on Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people, according to the health ministry. The Israeli army said it had targeted Hamas.
The National News Agency reported that “an Israeli drone” struck a neighborhood in the Ain al-Helweh camp, located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.
An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene.
In a separate statement, the Israeli army said its forces “struck a Hamas command center from which terrorists operated” in the Ain al-Helweh area.
The military added that it “is operating against the entrenchment” of the Palestinian militant group in Lebanon and will “continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate”.
Hamas condemned the attack in a statement, saying it resulted in “civilian” casualties.
It rejected Israel’s allegations as “flimsy pretexts”, stating that the targeted building “belongs to the joint security force charged with maintaining security and stability in the camp”.
A raid on Ain al-Helweh in November 2024, which Israel said targeted a Hamas training compound, killed 13 people. The UN rights office said 11 children were killed in that strike, while Hamas denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon.
In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the outset of the Gaza war, triggering hostilities that culminated in two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.
A November 2024 ceasefire sought to halt more than a year of hostilities, but Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes in Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah and occasionally Hamas militants.
Lebanon’s government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, and the army said in January 2026 that it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area near the Israeli border.
Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticized the army’s progress as insufficient.
The latest strikes underscore continuing tensions despite the ceasefire framework.