WhatsappAn Israeli airstrike late Sunday night targeted a group of Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives traveling along the Damascus–Beirut corridor in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley, according to the military. The strike occurred near the village of Majdal Anjar, roughly 40 kilometers north of Israel’s border, on a road long used as a logistical artery between Syria and Lebanon.
The IDF said the operatives were en route to cross from Lebanon into Syria when they were struck. In recent months, intelligence assessments had identified the cell as working to advance terror activity against Israel from Lebanese territory. From Israel’s perspective, the movement toward Syria was not a retreat — it was part of an operational cycle: staging in Lebanon, coordinating across the Syrian theater, and preparing attacks against Israeli targets along the northern front.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported four fatalities in the strike.
The military stated that the operatives posed an immediate threat both to Israeli civilians and to Israeli forces operating in the Syrian arena. The location of the strike underscores a pattern that has become increasingly clear over the past year: militant infrastructure in Lebanon is no longer confined to the southern border area under Hezbollah’s shadow. Instead, Iranian-aligned factions are using the Beqaa Valley as a connective corridor linking Damascus, western Syria, and the Lebanese interior — a zone where Palestinian Islamic Jihad cells can move personnel and equipment while attempting to stay outside the traditional Israel-Lebanon confrontation line.
By striking the operatives while in transit, Israel signaled that the geographic distinction between the Lebanese and Syrian theaters is largely irrelevant operationally. From Jerusalem’s standpoint, the threat network is one continuous battlespace. The moment a cell transitions from preparation to deployment — even far north of the border — it becomes a legitimate target.
In effect, the strike reflects Israel’s ongoing campaign to disrupt the Iranian-backed militant ecosystem before attacks materialize, rather than responding after infiltration attempts occur.
