Hezbollah continued launching missiles at Israel while Israel continued with waves of airstrikes and deployed troops in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the move to deploy troops to the south of Lebanon was to prevent direct fire on neighboring Israeli communities (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces reported that strikes also killed Daoud Ali Zadeh, the acting commander of the Lebanon Corps of the elite Qods Force, in Tehran (AP)
Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, a Hezbollah ally, also stated that its command center was targeted by the IDF (Times of Israel)
Haneen Sayed, Lebanon’s minister of social affairs, said that forty people were killed and over two-hundred injured in Israeli strikes since Monday (NYT)
This figure includes three paramedics who were killed, and six others who were wounded while recovering victims from an airstrike in the Tyre district of Lebanon (NBC)
As tensions rise, the U.S. Department of State announced that it closed the U.S. embassy in Beirut (State)
IDF Begins Strikes in Lebanon
After Hezbollah announced that it launched drones and rockets at the Israeli city of Haifa to avenge the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated it struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon (BBC)
Residents near Beirut reported sounds of explosions as Israeli airstrikes targeted the residential center of Dahiya, which is also a Hezbollah stronghold (NYT)
The IDF confirmed that the strikes killed Hussein Makled, who it described as the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence wing (Times of Israel)
The Lebanese Health Ministry stated that 31 people were killed and another 139 were wounded in the Israeli operations (NPR)
Thousands of people have fled southern Lebanon (NYT)
Amid the strikes, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that Lebanon would ban military activities by Hezbollah; the announcement is likely to fuel additional internal division as Hezbollah faces a new Israeli offensive campaign (Reuters)
Hezbollah Launches Missiles Into Israel
The Israel Defense Forces stated that Hezbollah fired several missiles from Lebanon into Israel; Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was a retaliatory strike in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (Axios)
U.S.: No Israeli Escalation in Lebanon If Hezbollah Stands Down
Following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, the U.S. Ambassador told the Lebanese presidency that Israel would not escalate against Lebanon as long as no hostile acts were taken from the Lebanese side; this comes as Hezbollah expressed solidarity with Iran but stopped short of announcing whether the group would join the fighting (Reuters)
Israel previously warned Beirut that if Hezbollah became involved in a U.S.-Iran war, it would strike Lebanon hard, including civilian infrastructure (Reuters)
Lebanon Urges Hezbollah to Stay Out of Any U.S.-Iran Conflict
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji urged Hezbollah not to get involved in any conflict between Iran and the United States; this comes as Israel warned Lebanese officials that another Israel-Hezbollah war would trigger strikes against civilian infrastructure across Lebanon more intense than the previous round of fighting (AP)
United States Pulling Out Non-Essential Staff Amid Iran Tensions
A senior State Department official stated that the U.S. Embassy in Beirut would be removing non-essential staff and eligible family members amid concerns about escalating tensions with Iran; fifty people were reportedly evacuated, including thirty-two who flew out of Beirut airport on Monday (Reuters)
Israeli Strikes Kill Ten
Lebanese officials stated that Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon killed at least ten; Hezbollah confirmed that eight members, including one senior field commander, were killed (BBC)
IDF Targets Hezbollah Weapons Dept
The Israel Defense Forces announced that it struck Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, including missile launchers, weapons storage facilities, and military sites used to conduct attacks (Times of Israel)
Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan
Hezbollah rejected the Lebanese government’s plan to allow its army to begin its second phase of a national disarmament plan, stating the group would not accept what it deems as a move that benefits Israel (Reuters)
Israels Strikes Hezbollah Official and Seizes Hamas Ally
The Israel Defense Forces stated it struck Hezbollah artillery official Ahmad Salami, as Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone strike killed three civilians; separately, the IDF seized an unnamed ally of Hamas and brought him to Israel for questioning (AP)
Weapons Used in Mezzeh Airport Attacks Traced to Hezbollah
Syria arrested the group behind the recent Mezzeh Airport attacks, and investigators traced the weapons to Hezbollah; Hezbollah denied the allegations and stated it had no ties to Syria (Reuters)
Separately, the Israel Defense Forces struck engineering vehicles it says were used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon (Times of Israel)
Israeli Air Force Strikes Hezbollah Operative
The Israeli Air Force struck a Hezbollah operative in Seddiqine, southern Lebanon (Times of Israel)
Hezbollah Warns of Regional War Over U.S. Threats to Iran
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group is preparing to confront potential U.S. action against Iran, including any threat to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; he further warned that a war on Iran could ignite the entire region and said Hezbollah is not neutral and will decide in due course whether to intervene (Reuters)
Israel Expands Airstrikes on Hezbollah Sites Across Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a new wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah military sites across several areas in Lebanon; this follows earlier strikes that hit a Hezbollah-run weapons manufacturing facility in southern Lebanon and additional Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa valley (Times of Israel)
Lebanon Seeks New International Force After UNFIL Withdrawal
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon will need a new international force after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon withdraws in 2027, citing continued Israeli operations in southern Lebanon and ongoing tensions with Hezbollah (Arab News)
Israel Targets Hezbollah Smuggling Routes on Syria-Lebanon Border
Israel struck four crossings along the Syria-Lebanon border that it said Hezbollah uses to smuggle weapons; the IDF carried out additional strikes on Hezbollah-linked infrastructure in southern Lebanon that wounded nineteen people (Reuters)
Israel Launches Strikes on Hezbollah Positions
Israel said it is striking Hezbollah targets in multiple areas of Lebanon in response to what it described as repeated violations of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire; the Israeli military also issued warnings to residents in specific buildings in the village of Sohmor ahead of the attacks (Reuters)
U.S. Designates Muslim Brotherhood Chapter as Terrorist Organization
The Trump administration designated the group’s chapters in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon as terrorist organizations (Treasury)
The moves were “the opening actions” in efforts to counter the group’s “violence and destabilization,” Rubio said in a statement (State)
Muslim Brotherhood leaders claim to renounce violence, though Trump wrote last year that the Lebanese chapter launched rockets against Israel (AP;White House)
Army Reasserts Control of Southern Region Once Dominated by Hezbollah
The operations were pledged as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in late 2024, which required Hezbollah’s disarmament; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Lebanon’s efforts were “an encouraging beginning,” but insufficient (Reuters)
Israeli Strikes in Southern and Eastern Lebanon
Israel’s military said the targets were Hezbollah and Hamas sites; Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the overnight attacks undermined Lebanon’s ongoing efforts to extend government control over Hezbollah-dominated areas (AP)
Israel issued a warning ahead of the attacks, and the target areas were evacuated (Politico)
Talks on Hezbollah Disarmament
Officials from France, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United States met in Paris to discuss a roadmap for disarming Hezbollah, one of the central tenets of a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon late last year; the countries agreed to host a conference on the matter in February, France’s foreign ministry said (Reuters)
Each side has accused the other of ceasefire violations; Israel carried out strikes in Lebanon today (AP)
Israeli Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon
Israel hit Hezbollah targets across various villages, targeting launch sites and training grounds belonging to the elite Radwan Force (Times of Israel)
The strikes damaged homes, although no casualties were reported (Anadolu Agency)
EU Support for Lebanon’s Security Forces
An internal document shows Brussels is assessing ways to bolster Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to shift routine security duties away from the Lebanese Armed Forces, which would instead increasingly focus on Hezbollah’s disarmament; the proposal comes ahead of a planned December 15 meeting between Lebanon and the European Union (Reuters)
UN Delegation in Lebanon
A visiting UN Security Council team said it is assessing options for managing Lebanon’s southern border once the UN peacekeeping mandate ends in late 2026, following Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s request for a follow-on force to avoid a security vacuum (AP)
Lebanon-Hezbollah Tensions Over Israel Talks
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem denounced Lebanon’s recent direct talks with Israel, accusing the government of offering Israel an unreciprocated concession; Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended the talks by suggesting they were essential for halting Israeli strikes (Reuters)
He insisted they were security-focused, tempering Israel’s claims about broader civilian cooperation (Al Monitor)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told a UN Security Council delegation that the Lebanese Army has expanded its deployments in southern Lebanon to counter Hezbollah’s rearmament, adding that Lebanon seeks the deployment of a new international force to help preserve security once the mandate of the current UN force ends in 2026 (AP)
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department approved a possible $90.5 million sale of Medium Tactical Vehicles to the Lebanese military as part of efforts to preserve security and disarm Hezbollah (Al Arabiya)