Israel has carried out a new series of air attacks in southern Lebanon, damaging several homes and increasing anger over repeated violations of last year’s ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Monday night that Israeli jets struck Mount Safi, the town of Jbaa, the Zefta Valley, and the area between Azza and Rumin Arki in several waves. No casualties were immediately reported.
Israel’s military said on X that it targeted multiple Hezbollah-linked sites, including a special operations training facility used by the Radwan Force, along with several buildings and a rocket-launching area.
Ceasefire Monitoring and Rising Tensions
The strikes came shortly after Israel and Lebanon sent civilian representatives to a military committee responsible for overseeing their ceasefire — a move pushed by the United States to expand dialogue between the two countries.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said his government chose negotiations to halt Israel’s ongoing attacks. The ceasefire, brokered by Washington in 2024, ended more than a year of fighting, but Israel has continued near-daily strikes.
A UN report in November said at least 127 civilians, including children, have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire began. UN officials warned that the continued strikes may constitute war crimes.
Tensions escalated further last week when Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs and killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Haytham Ali Tabtabai. The group, still weakened after last year’s conflict, has not yet responded.
Concerns About Escalation
Israel argues that Lebanon is not doing enough to pressure Hezbollah into giving up its weapons — a claim the Lebanese government rejects. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam recently said the ceasefire monitoring mechanism should play a stronger role, including verifying whether Hezbollah is rearming and assessing the Lebanese army’s operations.
When asked if Lebanon would accept US and French troops as part of this verification system, Salam replied, “Of course.”
The continued Israeli strikes have intensified fears that Israel may widen its air campaign. Hezbollah has stated it will not surrender its weapons as long as Israel maintains attacks on Lebanese territory and occupies five contested points in the south.