An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, late Sunday killed a local official of a Christian political party, deepening internal tensions in Lebanon as the conflict with Hezbollah widens across the country.

The strike, which hit a residential building in the predominantly Christian town in the hills east of the capital, left three people dead, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The mayor of Ain Saadeh said the victims were on a floor below the intended target.

The Lebanese Forces Party, a staunchly anti-Hezbollah Christian political group, identified two of the dead as Pierre Moawad, a local party official, and his wife, Flavia.

“We are paying a heavy price for a war into which we have been dragged by the lawless organisation Hezbollah,” Lebanese Forces parliamentarian Razi El Hage told Lebanese broadcaster MTV.

The latest strike comes amid an escalating Israeli military campaign in Lebanon launched in response to cross-border fire from Hezbollah. Lebanese authorities say more than 1,460 people have been killed since the start of the intensified hostilities.

Israel has expanded its air and ground operations across southern and eastern Lebanon and parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, ordering residents in multiple areas to evacuate. The campaign has displaced more than one million people, many of them from the Shi’ite Muslim community that forms Hezbollah’s core support base.

While some residents in Christian areas have expressed fears that Hezbollah-linked fighters may be sheltering in civilian neighbourhoods, local officials say they are also concerned about the risk of sectarian spillover.

Christian lawmaker Nadim Gemayel, an opponent of Hezbollah, previously warned that Israel’s strikes could be indirectly fuelling tensions by pushing displaced Shi’ite communities into other regions of the country.

There was no evacuation warning issued ahead of Sunday’s strike. Residents in Ain Saadeh said the targeted apartment building appeared unoccupied.

“I’ve been in my house for 20 years, I’ve never even seen this apartment lit. There’s no one in it,” said Antoine Aalam, a 70-year-old resident who lives opposite the building.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it had targeted a “terror target east of Beirut,” but gave no further details. It added that reports of civilian casualties were under review and did not respond to questions about concerns of sectarian implications.

Earlier strikes on Sunday also hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing five people, including a teenage girl and two Sudanese migrant workers, while another strike in southern Lebanon killed a man and his wife and wounded their two children.

The escalation continues despite a ceasefire reached in 2024 in the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israeli forces maintaining operations in parts of southern Lebanon. Lebanese officials say repeated calls for a renewed truce have so far gone unanswered.

President Joseph Aoun, in his first televised address since the renewed escalation, warned that preserving national unity remains critical.

“Our primary concern is preserving civil peace, which is a red line,” he said. (Arise News)

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