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)
UN to End Lebanon Peacekeeping Mission by 2026
The UN Security Council extended the mandate of its Lebanon peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) for sixteen months but ordered its withdrawal in December 2026 under U.S. and Israeli pressure, ending a forty-seven-year mission monitoring the Israel-Lebanon border (Guardian)
Lebanese President Rejects Foreign Intervention
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council that no group in Lebanon may bear arms or rely on foreign backing; he added that Lebanon is open to cooperation with Iran “within the framework of sovereignty and friendship…based on mutual respect” (AP; Reuters)
Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan
The Lebanese government directed the army to draw up plans for moving all weapons in the country under state control; Hezbollah currently holds many of those weapons and has opposed such a move (Bloomberg)
Hezbollah said in a written statement that it would continue to act “as if [the plan] does not exist,” claiming that disarmament “fully serves Israel’s interest” (Al Jazeera)
Lebanon’s Cabinet Meets to Discuss Hezbollah Disarmament
After the United States increased pressure on ministers to commit to disarming Hezbollah, Lebanon’s cabinet met for the first time to consider Hezbollah’s prospective disarmament (Reuters)
Meanwhile, in response to the possibility that Israel could intensify strikes in Lebanon if Hezbollah does not disarm, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that the militant group would defend itself; dozens of Hezbollah supporters rallied for the second day in a row in Beirut’s southern suburbs after the speech (Reuters)
Hezbollah Supporters Protest Disarmament
Amid growing pressure from the United States, dozens of Hezbollah supporters rallied in Beirut to protest the group’s potential disarmament ahead of Lebanon’s cabinet meeting on August 5 (Al Jazeera)
Aoun Calls on Hezbollah to Disarm
In a speech to army officers, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Hezbollah to disarm and place its trust in the Lebanese state in its confrontation with Israel, warning that failure to do so would “provide pretexts for an aggression” by Israel; his remarks directly contradicted a speech by Hezbollah’s leader the previous day, who argued that disarmament would only serve Israel’s interests (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Israel’s military claimed that it struck an explosives manufacturing site and infrastructure used to produce and store weapons in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon (Reuters)
Top Hezbollah Official Rejects Calls to Disarm in Public Statement
Washington has urged Lebanon’s government to issue a formal commitment to disarm the group, five unnamed sources told Reuters; Hezbollah has reportedly considered scaling back its arsenal, despite public statements that it would not do so (Reuters)
Israel Targets Hezbollah With Drones and Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon
In Ayta ash-Shab in southern Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force launched a drone strike at a suspected Hezbollah military facility and reportedly killed one Hezbollah operative; Israeli forces also bombed other Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon as they claimed they contained weapons caches and rocket launchers (Times of Israel)
Israeli Strikes Kill Five Hezbollah Fighters in Deadliest Attack Since Ceasefire
In the Bekaa Valley region in eastern Lebanon, Israeli forces launched airstrikes at Hezbollah training camps and weapons storehouses, killing twelve people, including five Hezbollah militants and seven alleged Syrian nationals; the Israeli military viewed the attack as a warning to Hezbollah against attempting to re-establish itself (Reuters)
Israel Launches Operations in Southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces launched “special, targeted operations” focusing on Hezbollah infrastructure and facilities in Labbouneh and Jabal Blat to prevent Hezbollah from “reestablishing itself in the area” (Al Jazeera)
During the operation, Israel’s military reportedly dismantled a compound containing weapons, destroyed an underground weapons-storage facility, and located more weapons used by Hezbollah (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Military Kills Hamas Leader
Near Tripoli, the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed Mehran Mustafa Ba’jur, a Hamas commander in Lebanon, in Israel’s first targeted assassination since the November 2024 ceasefire; Ba’jur and two others were killed in the car strike, which also injured thirteen others (Reuters)
U.S. “Extremely Satisfied” With Lebanon’s Plan for Disarming Hezbollah
More than two weeks after U.S. Envoy Thomas Barrack presented a proposal to the Lebanese government outlining a plan to disarm Hezbollah, the government responded with a seven-page document that Barrack said he was “extremely satisfied” with; the contents of the document were not disclosed (Reuters)
Hezbollah Rejects Demands for Disarmament
In a video address, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said Hezbollah would not lay down its weapons until Israel removes all of its troops from southern Lebanon and halts all airstrikes (AP)
Israeli Military Launches Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon
Israeli airstrikes, considered more intense than usual, targeted the villages of Zrariyeh, Kfrar Milki, and Ansar; the Israeli military claimed to have struck rocket launchers and a Hezbollah arms depot but did not provide evidence (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Air Strikes in Beirut Target Hezbollah
On the eve of Eid Al Adha, a major Islamic holiday, Israeli forces launched air strikes into southern Beirut, allegedly targeting areas where Hezbollah was producing drones; casualties were not confirmed (BBC)
UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon Faces Israeli Gunfire at Outpost
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired upon its position near the Blue Line, which delineates Lebanon from the Golan Heights; UNIFIL also cited other incidents of increased Israeli aggression against UN peacekeepers in recent days (Reuters)
Israeli Strike on Lebanon Kills Senior Hezbollah Commander
Israel’s military stated that its forces eliminated Adnan Harb, who headed logistical support for Hezbollah and supplied weapons to Hezbollah militants south of the Litani River (Times of Israel)
Lebanon Calls for Increased Pressure on Israel Following Latest Strike on Beirut
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized the latest strikes as further failure by Israel to cease hostilities per the ongoing ceasefire; Aoun appealed to the United States and France to apply greater pressure on Israel, which claims that its forces struck stored Hezbollah missiles (BBC)
Lebanon’s President Calls Hezbollah Disarmament a “Delicate Issue”
President Joseph Aoun stated that working with Hezbollah on an agreement to disarm takes careful consideration to preserve internal peace; his statements come after Lebanese troops stopped and arrested multiple individuals in Lebanon who planned to fire rockets into Israel (Al Jazeera)
However, on Friday, April 18, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem claimed that the group “will not let anyone disarm it” (France24)
Israel Plans to Hold “Security Zones” Indefinitely
Israel will keep troops deployed in certain zones of Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria indefinitely, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday; he added they would create buffer zones to protect Israeli communities (AP)
Lebanon-Syria Security Talks
The two countries agreed to cooperate economically and coordinate over security issues in Cairo; last month, they saw deadly border clashes before reaching a cease-fire (Al Jazeera)
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit begins a phase of “restoration of trust,” Salam said; the leaders also discussed the case of Lebanese people who had gone missing in Syria in recent decades (Reuters)
Hezbollah Official Says That Group is Open to Disarming If Israel Withdraws From Lebanon
The senior official stated that the group will consider talks of disarmament with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun provided that Israeli forces pull out from their five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
Separately, the Trump administration informed the World Food Program (WFP) that it reversed aid cuts to Lebanon after USAID funds to the WFP in fourteen countries had been mistakenly cut, according to a U.S. Department of State spokesperson (AP)
Israeli Drone Strike Kills Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that it eliminated Hezbollah Artillery Commander Muhammad Adnan Mansour in the southern Lebanese district of Taybeh (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Strikes on Beirut Kill Four, Including a Hezbollah Official
The Israeli military stated that the targeted official was a member of Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force; the latest airstrikes signify continued tensions in the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, which the United States brokered in November 2024 (Reuters)