The Israeli military struck several locations in southern Lebanon after issuing five evacuation orders for civilian departures, as concerns of a full-blown Israeli aerial campaign mount across the country; Lebanon condemned the attacks while UN peacekeepers warned the strikes violate Security Council resolution 1701 (Reuters)
Hezbollah claimed that it had a “legitimate right” to respond but would continue abiding by the ceasefire, while still rejecting political talks with Israel (AP)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Hezbollah operatives accused of transferring millions of dollars from Iran to help rebuild the group’s military arsenal (Treasury)
Israeli Strikes Kill Two Hezbollah Fighters
The fighters were killed in two separate strikes that targeted Nabatieh and Ayta ash-Shab (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated his belief that Beirut has no alternative but to pursue indirect talks with Israel, even as Israel remains an adversary (Arab News)
Lebanon-Syria Talks in Bahrain
Syria’s foreign ministry said it sought to improve both political and security ties; the countries have a history of strained relations, as Syria occupied Lebanon from 1976 to 2005 and Hezbollah fighters participated in Syria’s civil war (The National)
With relatively new governments in place in both countries, their leaders have pledged to improve bilateral relations (AP)
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will act if Lebanon fails to enforce its ceasefire obligation to disarm Hezbollah, reiterating earlier warnings from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz; Hezbollah has accepted the truce but insists that the disarmament requirement applies only to southern Lebanon (Reuters)
Israeli strikes on Lebanon continued, with a missile strike in Nabatieh province killing four and injuring three others (Al Jazeera)
More U.S. Frustration With Hezbollah Disarmament Slowdown
U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack criticized Lebanon’s failure to disarm Hezbollah or provide basic state services, contrasting those failures with Hezbollah’s continued subsumption of state institutions; Barrack contrasted Lebanon’s regression with progress in Syria, where leaders would soon join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State and hold further talks with Israel (AP)
Barrack added that wealthy Gulf countries are prepared to channel billions into development projects in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah gives up its arsenal and loosens ties to Iran (FT)
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike targeted the Kfar Sir village, wounding a man (Anadolu Agency)
Lebanese Government Calls for Talks With Israel
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for negotiations to stop near-daily Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, as Israeli military activity accelerates; after meeting with Aoun, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul likewise expressed concern about Israeli attacks (AP)
Intelligence Confirms Hezbollah Rearmament Surge
Israeli and Arab intelligence indicate Hezbollah is reestablishing its arsenal with rockets, antitank weapons, and artillery through smuggling and local production, undermining the November 2024 ceasefire, as Lebanese authorities struggle to advance disarmament beyond southern areas (WSJ)
Israel is growing increasingly frustrated at Hezbollah’s rearmament and may expand its military campaign to address the threat (Times of Israel). Israeli cabinet officials convened a meeting on Thursday night to discuss the issue (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Ground Raid in Southern Lebanon
Israeli troops entered a municipal building in Blida overnight and fatally shot a local employee, prompting resident protests and condemnations from the Lebanese government, as UN peacekeepers warned the incursion violated Resolution 1701 (AP)
In response to the incident, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told the Lebanese military to respond to any new Israeli cross-border operations, prompting praise from Hezbollah; the directive demonstrates increasing Lebanese state frustration with Israeli military strikes in Lebanon, which have accelerated over the past week alongside surveillance drone flights over Beirut (Al Jazeera)
In a separate incident, airstrikes in at least three southern Lebanese towns also injured three (Anadolu Agency)
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)
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)