President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida, December 29, 2025. (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)
Israel has received a green light from President Trump for a major air campaign against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. Beirut said it has partially disarmed the terror group.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently informed ministers in his government that President Donald Trump has given Israel a green light to carry out a major campaign against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, after the Lebanese government missed the December 31 deadline set by the White House for disarming Hezbollah.
At the prodding of the Trump administration, in September, Beirut approved a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025.
Under the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, passed in 2006, Lebanon is required to demilitarize all armed organizations operating in the country.
Lebanon’s renewed commitment to fulfill this obligation was a cornerstone of the November 2024 ceasefire deal with Israel, which led to the withdrawal of IDF forces from southern Lebanon, with the exception of five outposts along the border.
The Trump administration repeatedly warned Beirut that if it failed to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, Lebanon could face renewed hostilities with Israel.
On Wednesday, Israel’s national broadcaster, KAN, reported that Netanyahu told ministers recently that the US has now given its backing to a plan drafted by the IDF last year for an expanded air campaign against Hezbollah.
While Israel has continued to regularly target Hezbollah forces south of the Litani River even after the November 2024 truce, the IDF has been severely limited in operating north of the Litani, rarely striking Hezbollah’s strongholds in the Beqaa Valley and the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut.
Anticipating a wave of Israeli attacks, Hezbollah has reportedly moved its heavy weapons north of the Litani River and drastically reduced its presence near the Israeli frontier.
On Thursday, the Lebanese government issued a statement claiming that it has completed the demilitarization of southern Lebanon, in the hopes of averting an Israeli campaign.
Israel, however, is expected to reject Lebanon’s claim and move forward with expanded operations against Hezbollah.
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