Israel strikes deeper into Lebanon

SANAA, Feb 26 (Reuters): Israel carried out airstrikes in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Monday, killing at least two Hezbollah members in its deepest attack yet into Lebanese territory since hostilities erupted with the Iran-backed group last October, sources in Lebanon said.

The Israeli military said its warplanes had struck Hezbollah air defences in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone by the group earlier in the day. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, which earlier said its fighters had shot down the drone using a surface-to-air missile.

The violence marked an escalation of hostilities that have been fought in parallel to the war in Gaza, heightening the risks of further escalation between heavily armed adversaries that last went to war in 2006.