Hezbollah official says only choice is ‘resistance’ after Israeli strike kills 8 operatives

An excavator clears rubble of buildings destroyed in IDF airstrikes in the village of Ali al-Nahri in the center of Lebanon's eastern Beqaa Valley region on February 21, 2026. (AFP)
An excavator clears rubble of buildings destroyed in IDF airstrikes in the village of Ali al-Nahri in the center of Lebanon's eastern Beqaa Valley region on February 21, 2026. (AFP)

Senior Hezbollah political leader and Lebanese parliament member Mahmoud Qamati says that the group’s only choice is “resistance” after an Israeli strike in eastern Lebanon killed eight of the group’s operatives a day before.

“What happened yesterday in the Beqaa is a new massacre and a new aggression, exceeding all the previous levels of aggression against Lebanon,” Qamati says in a speech broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar network during a protest in Beirut.

“What option do we have left to defend ourselves and our country? What option do we have other than resistance? We no longer have any [other] option.”

The strike in the Beqaa Valley killed eight Hezbollah operatives, including one described as a “commander,” the group said earlier today.

The IDF said the strikes targeted three command centers belonging to Hezbollah’s missile array, killing a “large number” of operatives. According to Lebanese media, the strikes killed at least 10 and wounded over 50.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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