Report: Trump gives Israel green light to attack Hezbollah as deadline passes

December 31 deadline for Hezbollah disarmament passes amid reports Trump gave Netanyahu approval for major military operation against the Lebanese terror group.

By World Israel News Staff

The deadline set by the White House for Lebanon to demonstrate it has made significant progress in disarming the Hezbollah terror organization passed overnight, amid reports that President Donald Trump has given Israel a green light to launch a major military operation against the Iranian-backed terror group.

The US had repeatedly warned Beirut that failure to demilitarize Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon would likely result in the renewal of Israeli military operations across Lebanon against the Shi’ite terror group.

The Trump administration set a deadline of Dec, 31 for Beirut to lay out a clear timetable for dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and arsenal, and to show progress demonstrating its commitment to upholding the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire deal and the 2006 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.

Trump did not discuss Hezbollah at length during a press conference Monday ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but did say the group was “behaving badly.”

“We’re gonna see about that,” Trump said when asked whether Israel “should strike Hezbollah.”

“We’ll see about it. The Lebanese government is at a little bit of a disadvantage, if you think about it with Hezbollah, but Hezbollah has been behaving badly, so we’ll see what happens.”

The Jerusalem Post quoted a source who said that during their Monday meeting, Trump gave Netanyahu a green light to take action against Hezbollah.

“If the Lebanese army doesn’t succeed in disarming them, and Israel believes an action is the necessary thing to do,” then the US will back Israeli action in Lebanon, Trump was quoted as saying during the meeting.

A report by the Lebanese Al Joumhouria newspaper suggested that Trump has likely already approved expanded Israeli operations against Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, the IDF reported that as of December 15, Hezbollah has violated the November 2024 truce over 1,900 times.

While the IDF has regularly struck Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon, since the ceasefire went into effect, strikes on targets north of the Litani, including in Beirut, have been rare.