Israel strikes southern Lebanon as deadline to disarm Hezbollah nears | Lebanon

Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes in southern Lebanon, which it says is Hezbollah’s infrastructure, as the new year deadline approaches for the Lebanese state to disarm the group in the south of the country.

Israeli warplanes bombed the Houmin, Wadi Azza and Nimeiriya valleys in the southern Nabatieh region on Wednesday morning. Residents reported that following the attacks, Israeli drones continued to hover over southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley and other areas.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it had struck Hezbollah’s launch sites and military infrastructure, describing its existence as a “violation of agreements between Israel and Lebanon.”

Israel regularly attacks southern Lebanon, violating a ceasefire that has been in place for more than a year that ended a 13-month war with Hezbollah. According to independent conflict monitor ACLED, Israel has been bombing Lebanon on average every four hours since the ceasefire was implemented.

Hezbollah bombed Israel once in the week after the ceasefire was established in December 2024.

As the deadline for the Lebanese army to clear all Hezbollah’s weapons from the south of the Litani River approaches, air strikes in recent weeks have been accompanied by increased Israeli rhetoric.

“There will be no peace in Beirut, nor will there be order and stability in Lebanon until the security of the state of Israel is guaranteed… Hezbollah: we will disarm them,” Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said in his speech to parliament in November.

Under a US-approved plan adopted by the Lebanese army, by the end of the year the Lebanese army is intended to clear all Hezbollah infrastructure, weapons and personnel south of the Litani, about 20 miles from the country’s border with Israel. Israeli forces are planned to withdraw from the country, but Israeli troops continue to occupy five points in the south and conduct regular ground operations there.

Lebanese officials say the disarmament of Hezbollah in the south is nearly complete and that they are regularly blowing up the group’s old weapons depots.

Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said on December 17 that the government had nearly completed disarmament in the south and said that while Lebanon “strictly enforced” the ceasefire, Israel had consistently violated it.

But Israel denies the claim and says Hezbollah is trying to rebuild itself along its borders.

On Monday, an Israeli drone strike killed three men in a car 10 miles south of the Lebanese city of Saida, far north of Litani. Israel claimed that one of the killed men, a Lebanese army officer, was also a member of Hezbollah and was involved in planning an attack on Israel.

It was also pointed out that the presence of a Hezbollah member in the army is evidence that the Lebanese state is not doing enough to fight the group.

The Lebanese army and Hezbollah denied the soldier had any connection with the armed group; Lebanese defense minister Michel Menassa said the accusation was a “malicious attack” against the army.

Israeli media reported that one of the agenda items of the expected meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump was an expanded attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

As Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon continue, Israeli and Lebanese officials continue to meet in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura to discuss the status of the ceasefire.

Last Friday, delegations included civilian representatives for the second time, sparking outrage in Lebanon; This said, the participation of civilian negotiators is extremely important for the recognition of Israel and is a taboo in Lebanese politics. Civilian representatives were supposed to discuss non-military issues such as potential economic cooperation between the two countries.

Israel has said it views diplomatic relations with the Lebanese state as separate from its military attacks on Hezbollah and continues to move forward on both paths.

The Lebanese state has constantly called for help from the international community to stop the almost daily attacks on its sovereignty.