IDF strikes Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received a green light from the Trump administration to restart the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign against Hezbollah.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday carried out strikes on Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, the IDF announced.

“A short while ago, the IDF struck shafts used to store weapons at several military sites of the Hezbollah terrorist group in Southern Lebanon,” the military stated, adding: “In recent months, activity by the Hezbollah terrorist organization was identified at these sites.

“The activity at the sites that were struck constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” concluded the army.

The Iranian terrorist proxy started attacking the Jewish state the day after Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, opening a second front on the country’s northern border that lasted until a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Beirut and Jerusalem on Nov. 27, 2024.

The truce deal required Hezbollah to be disarmed, starting in regions adjacent to the border, with the Lebanese Armed Forces mandated to establish a monopoly over arms in the country under the terms of the ceasefire agreement and a subsequent Lebanese Cabinet decision.

The Lebanese Armed Forces said on Thursday that it had completed the first phase of its national disarmament plan, expanding its control in the south as part of efforts to “extend the state’s authority exclusively through its own forces over the entirety of Lebanese territory.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement the same day, said that while Lebanese efforts were “an encouraging beginning,” they were “far from sufficient” given Hezbollah’s Iranian-aided rearmament efforts.

“The ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States between Israel and Lebanon states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed. This is imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future,” Jerusalem said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received a green light from the Trump administration to restart the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign against Hezbollah, Israel Hayom reported last week.

The IDF has already put together operational plans, including different levels of intensity and clearly defined targets within the terrorist organization’s power bases, according to last week’s report.