Beirut (Diplomat.so) - Hezbollah officials on Saturday warned that the group is being pushed toward an escalated response after Israeli airstrikes killed eight of its members—including senior commander Hussein Mohammed Yaghi—in the Beqaa Valley on Friday, marking one of the deadliest incidents in eastern Lebanon in recent weeks. The strikes hit near the village of Rayak, according to two Hezbollah officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Speaking during a protest in Beirut on Saturday, Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, said the Israeli operation amounted to "a new massacre,” adding that the movement "has no longer any option” but to defend itself. His remarks were broadcast by the group’s al-Manar television network. Qamati framed the attack as part of a broader escalation, asserting that Israel had crossed "all previous levels of aggression against Lebanon.”
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health confirmed on Saturday that Israeli strikes across eastern Lebanon killed 10 people and wounded 24, including three children. The ministry’s figures suggest that casualties extended beyond Hezbollah’s ranks, underscoring growing civilian vulnerability amid spiraling cross-border hostilities.
Hezbollah sources identified three of the slain commanders as Ali al-Moussawi, Mohammed al-Moussawi, and Hussein Yaghi. Yaghi—son of veteran Hezbollah founding member Mohammed Yaghi, who died in 2023—was considered a rising strategic figure within the organization. His father had long served as a close aide to former Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated in an Israeli strike in September 2024.
In a separate statement, lawmaker Rami Abu Hamdan of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc criticized Lebanese authorities for what he called "inaction” in the face of persistent Israeli attacks. He urged the government to halt participation in ceasefire-monitoring committee meetings "until the aggression stops,” arguing that Lebanese blood "is not to be treated as cheap.”
Friday’s strikes come amid repeated Israeli violations of the November 2024 ceasefire, which Lebanese officials say has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries. Israel continues to hold several highland areas captured during the 2024 war, while indirect negotiations involving the United States and Iran remain stalled.
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