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Conflict With Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israel Kills Hezbollah Member

  • Israel accused the member of facilitating weapons transfers and rebuilding Hezbollah’s military network in the south (Middle East Monitor)

Hurdles in Hezbollah Disarmament Effort

  • Lebanon’s army continues its efforts to meet a year-end deadline to disarm Hezbollah in the south under a ceasefire with Israel, but it is now facing an explosives shortage; the United States is gradually supplying demolition aid, although the army has had to seal rather than destroy weapons sites as it awaits the aid’s arrival (Reuters)
  • Per local reports, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has accelerated his warnings to Beirut to complete the disarmament process and begin direct talks with Israel, threatening a “major Israeli strike” if these conditions are not met; Washington reportedly doubts Lebanon’s ability to enforce disarmament as Hezbollah rebuilds its capabilities (i24News)
  • U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus discussed these challenges with Lebanese leadership in Beirut (Jerusalem Post)

More Israeli Strikes Across Lebanon

  • Israeli attacks in southern and eastern Lebanon killed three, with the military claiming it targeted Hezbollah operatives; meanwhile, UN peacekeepers reported a drone-dropped grenade and tank fire against their patrol, as UN officials continue expressing concern about Israeli strikes in the country (Al Jazeera)

Israel Targets Hezbollah Commander

  • Israeli forces carried out strikes on a car in Haruf and a motorcycle in nearby Qlaileh, killing two and wounding one; the Israeli military claimed it had targeted a Hezbollah anti-tank commander, after killing a logistics commander a day earlier (Arab News)
  • Moreover, the Israeli military announced it launched drone strikes hitting Tyre, killing two brothers who it said were part of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit (Times of Israel)

Israeli Drone Strike in Southern Lebanon

  • The strike hit the Nabatiyeh area, killing two people and wounding two others amid continuing near-daily Israeli attacks, as the Israeli army claimed it was targeting a Hezbollah logistics commander and weapons sites; Lebanon’s state news agency also reported a separate Israeli strike in Marjayoun, although no injuries occurred (Al Jazeera)

Hezbollah Rearmament Accelerating

  • The Israeli military announced that it caught several smugglers attempting to transfer firearms into Lebanon near Mount Hermon on the Syria-Lebanon border; Israel said the operation was the second such interception in recent days, as reports indicate Hezbollah’s rearmament push is outpacing efforts from the Lebanese military to seize the group’s weapons arsenal (Times of Israel)
  • Western officials have privately suggested that Israel may accelerate its military actions if Lebanon fails to achieve more effective results (Jerusalem Post)
  • On Thursday, Israeli airstrikes killed two in southern Lebanon and two in eastern Lebanon, while media groups reported increased drone sightings over Beirut (Middle East Monitor; Al Jazeera)
  • Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with U.S. General Joseph Clearfield, who is leading the committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire with Israel, and reaffirmed the Lebanese government’s commitment to achieving a state monopoly over weapons (Anadolu Agency)

U.S. Envoy Warns Against Election Postponement

  • U.S. Special Envoy Tom Barrack cautioned that postponing Lebanon’s parliamentary elections could cause widespread unrest and deepen sectarian divides; Barrack warned that Hezbollah might seek election delays to rebuild its military arsenal and preserve political influence amid stalled Israeli withdrawals (Anadolu Agency)
  • Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued in southern Lebanon, with reports suggesting the Israeli military targeted the village of Jarmaq (Times of Israel)

Court Conditionally Frees Hannibal Gadhafi

  • A Lebanese judge allowed Hannibal Gadhafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi, to be released from the Lebanese prison system, where he has been held in retribution for the kidnapping of a Lebanese cleric in 1978, provided he pays a $11 million fee (AP)
  • Gadhafi’s lawyer suggested he is unable to pay the fee (New Arab)

Israeli Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon

  • Israeli warplanes carried out five airstrikes across southern Lebanon, including near Sidon and Nabatieh, in what Lebanese officials describe as another breach of the November 2024 ceasefire (Anadolu Agency)
  • A day earlier, Israeli airstrikes in the Bint Jbeil district injured multiple people (Naharnet)
  • Meanwhile, in Naqoura, military officials from the United States, France, the United Nations, and Lebanon met to coordinate ongoing operations to disarm Hezbollah (CENTCOM)

Lebanese President Proposes Dialogue With Israel

  • President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon and Israel should resume talks to resolve remaining disputes, arguing that war failed to yield positive results; Aoun’s comments cited the success of past discussions that led to the 2022 maritime border deal (AP)

Israeli Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon

  • Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese village of Msayleh, killing one person and injuring seven while destroying dozens of vehicles and briefly cutting off a key road linking Beirut and the south; President Joseph Aoun condemned the strikes as “blatant aggression” against civilians, while Israel claimed it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure (Al Jazeera)

Tangible Achievements in Hezbollah Disarmament Push

  • Lebanese reports indicate that the Lebanese Armed Forces have been quietly advancing efforts to disarm Hezbollah north of the Litani River, aiming to expand the initiative nationwide while balancing security objectives with political sensitivities to prevent internal conflict (Naharnet)

Hezbollah Disarmament Proceeds

  • Army commander General Rudolph Haikal presented Lebanon’s first detailed plan to the government to disarm Hezbollah, which kept the proposal confidential; meanwhile, Israel launched airstrikes that killed a Hezbollah member in southern Lebanon and hit training sites in the northeast (AP)

Israeli Military Kills Senior Hezbollah Air Defense Figure

  • The Israel Defense Forces conducted a drone strike near Nabatieh that killed Hassan Atwi, a senior Hezbollah figure reportedly involved in rebuilding the group’s air defense network and coordinating equipment transfers with Iran (Times of Israel)

Trump Administration Backs Lebanese Security Forces

  • The total package amounts to $230 million, comprising $190 million for the Lebanese army and $40 million for the Internal Security Force, and aims to help weaken and eventually disarm Hezbollah; the move comes despite wider U.S. foreign aid cuts (Middle East Monitor)

UN Rights Chief Urges End to Border Hostilities

  • UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk condemned Israel’s continued air and drone strikes, suggesting that they have killed at least 103 civilians in Lebanon over the past ten months; he urged a more robust implementation of the November 2024 ceasefire and recommended independent investigations into the civilian deaths (OHCHR)

Israeli Strikes Kill Two in Lebanon

  • Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israel struck targets in the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, killing two and wounding a third; the operation comes as Israel targets Hezbollah operatives and sites, violating the postwar truce (AFP)

Iranian Officials Visit Beirut

  • Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, visited Beirut to mark the first anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s killing and urged Middle Eastern states to set aside differences to unite against Israel; Larijani praised Hezbollah deputy Naim Kassem’s call for Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and warned Israel of “strong retaliation” if it strikes Iran again, while Kassem reaffirmed Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm (AP)
  • Meanwhile, Israeli drones flew over Beirut’s southern suburbs as thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered to commemorate Nasrallah (Times of Israel)

Israel Hits Site in Lebanon

  • Israeli jets struck a facility near Saraain in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley that the IDF said was producing precision missiles, violating the November 2024 ceasefire agreement; Lebanon’s state news agency confirmed the attack (AP)

Hezbollah Defies Government Ban With Beirut Light Show

  • Thousands of Hezbollah supporters projected images of slain leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine onto Beirut’s iconic Raouche rock, defying Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s order banning partisan use of national landmarks; Salam said the event violated permit terms and urged arrests (AP)

Israeli Drone Crashes Into UN Headquarters in Lebanon

  • An Israeli drone crashed into the headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, but caused no casualties; UNIFIL neutralized the drone and claimed Israel’s flights violate UN Resolution 1701, which ended a previous Israel-Hezbollah war, while Israel said the crash was due to a technical failure and is in contact with UNIFIL to discuss the matter (AP)

Israeli Drone Strike in Southern Lebanon Kills Five

  • Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli drone strike killed five people, including three children, in southern Lebanon; Israel said it was targeting a Hezbollah militant but acknowledged civilian casualties, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack as a threat to the ceasefire agreement (AP)

Israeli Strike Hits Car Outside Lebanese Hospital

  • Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on a vehicle outside a hospital killed one person and injured three in Tebnine, southern Lebanon; Israel has not yet commented (Times of Israel)

Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Southern Lebanon

  • The IDF said it struck multiple Hezbollah arms depots in southern Lebanon and issued evacuation orders for several villages, including Dibbine, Kaft Tibnit, and Mays al-Jabal, emphasizing that Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its weapons arsenal in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire (Jerusalem Post)

Lebanese Cabinet Backs Army Plan to Disarm Hezbollah

  • Lebanon’s government welcomed an army proposal to disarm Hezbollah that did not offer a timeline, as five Shia ministers walked out in protest; the move comes amid continued Israeli airstrikes and U.S. and Saudi pressure to curb the group’s influence (Al Jazeera)