The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes against Hamas and Hezbollah command centers in two separate locations across Lebanon on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens more in what the military described as operations against ceasefire violations.
The first strike targeted a Hamas facility in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern coastal city of Sidon. The second wave hit Hezbollah command centers in the Baalbek area of the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. The IDF said both sites were being used to plan and prepare attacks against Israeli forces and the state of Israel.
Ain al-Hilweh Strike
An Israeli drone fired missiles into the Hittin neighborhood of Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, earlier on Friday, according to the Palestine Chronicle. Lebanese reports said three people were killed and 12 wounded in the strike.
צה”ל תקף מפקדה ממנה פעלו מחבלים מארגון הטרור חמאס בדרום לבנון
צה”ל תקף מוקדם יותר היום מפקדה ממנה פעלו מחבלים מארגון הטרור חמאס במרחב עין אל-חלוה שבדרום לבנון.
המפקדה שהותקפה שימשה לאורך התקופה האחרונה את מחבלי ארגון הטרור חמאס עבור היערכות לפעולות טרור נגד כוחות צה”ל בשטח… pic.twitter.com/IT5xZbGOAL
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 20, 2026
The IDF said the targeted building had recently been used by Hamas operatives for training and preparation of attacks against Israeli troops operating in Lebanese territory.
“The infrastructure that was struck was embedded in the heart of a civilian population, cynically exploiting village residents to advance the organization’s terror objectives and using them as human shields,” the military said in a statement.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the targeted building had previously served as an office of the Joint Palestinian Security Forces responsible for maintaining security in the camp. The NNA added that the building had more recently been leased to a third party and converted into a meal distribution site.
Hamas condemned the strike and rejected the IDF’s characterization of the target, calling Israel’s justification “flimsy pretexts” and stating the building belonged to the joint security force operating inside the camp.
The IDF carried out a similar strike on the camp in November 2025 that killed at least 11 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Baalbek Strikes
Later Friday evening, Israeli aircraft launched a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah command centers in the Baalbek area. A Lebanese security source told Xinhua that Israeli aircraft launched six strikes on residential areas and Hezbollah sites. According to Reuters, at least 10 people were killed and 50 wounded.
Violent Israeli airstrikes in the Baalbek area. pic.twitter.com/Dah1qvKvIf
— courtneybonneauimages (@cbonneauimages) February 20, 2026
⚡️From the Israeli airstrike on Baalbek, Lebanon pic.twitter.com/5aUBZR9dBQ
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 20, 2026
Saudi media outlet al-Hadath reported that three Hezbollah commanders were killed in the strikes: Ali Zeid al-Moussawi, Muhammad Ibrahim al-Moussawi, and Hussein Yaghi.
Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar was the first to identify Hussein Yaghi as the son of former Hezbollah member of parliament Mohammad Hassan Yaghi, who is considered one of the organization’s founders and previously served as an aide to the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
A senior Hezbollah figure was killed in the wave of strikes in Baalbek, in Lebanon’s Bekaa region.
He was identified as the son of former Lebanese MP Hussein Yaghi, who represented Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/QwxVoEKSME
— ME24 – Middle East 24 (@MiddleEast_24) February 20, 2026
Al-Hadath also reported the strike targeted a commander meeting, with initial reports suggesting an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official may have been present. These claims have not been independently verified, however more local organizations are beginning to simultaneously report similar information.
The IDF did not comment on specific targets beyond confirming it struck Hezbollah command centers in Baalbek.
The Beqaa Valley has long served as a base for Hezbollah’s operational, financial, and military activities. One strike reportedly hit a site behind an Al-Qard al-Hassan facility along the Rayak-Baalbek road. Israel and Western governments have long described Al-Qard al-Hassan as Hezbollah’s financial arm, operating a network of lending offices across Lebanon.
Both strikes come roughly three months after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on November 27, 2024. The agreement mandated a halt to hostilities, required Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and called for Hezbollah to pull its forces north of the Litani River.
Israel continues to occupy several positions along the Lebanese border and has conducted regular airstrikes throughout the country since the ceasefire took effect, while Hezbollah has cooperated with disarmament south of the Litani but retained weapons elsewhere, according to the International Crisis Group.
