5 killed as Israel says bombed Hezbollah 'training camps' and arms in Bekaa

A wave of Israeli airstrikes on Monday targeted several mountainous areas in the Baalbek-Hermel region, killing five people and wounding five others, the Health Ministry said.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, confirmed four of the five killed were group members.

The Israeli army claimed the strikes hit “several Hezbollah targets” including “Radwan Force camps in which Hezbollah members and weapons were identified.”

“Hezbollah used the camps to train and rehabilitate (fighters) with the aim of plotting and staging terrorist plots against the IDF (Israeli army) forces and the State of Israel,” the Israeli army added.

Hezbollah militants “conducted shooting exercises and were trained on using various types of weapons during training at those bases,” the Israeli army alleged.

It added that “the storing of weapons and staging of military exercises against the State of Israel is considered a blatant violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon and represents a threat to the State of Israel,” vowing to continue to operate to “eliminate any threat to the State of Israel.”

The strikes come after several days of relative calm that followed the Lebanese government’s approval of a Lebanese Army plan for disarming Hezbollah and all armed groups and that witnessed a visit by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper.

After a long period of inactivity, the U.S.-led ceasefire committee convened on Sunday in the presence of Ortagus and Cooper and its meeting was described as positive.

The Lebanese government’s statement was met with conflicting interpretations in the country, while France welcomed the move and called it a “new positive step.”

Amid heavy pressure from the United States and fears Israel might intensify its military operations, the government last month ordered the army to draw up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year.

 Information Minister Paul Morcos has said the army would begin implementing the plan "in accordance with the available capabilities".

He said the army commander had warned of "constraints" on the plan's implementation, particularly "Israeli attacks", and gave no timeframe for the operation.

A government statement conditioned progress on "the commitment of other parties, foremost Israel".

The government says Hezbollah's disarmament is part of the implementation of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended more than a year of hostilities between its fighters and Israel in November.

Israel has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah targets despite the truce, saying they will continue until the group has been disarmed.

It has also maintained troops in five places in the south it deems strategic.