Israel carried out a series of strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting what it called Hezbollah infrastructure less than a day before an international committee overseeing a fragile ceasefire is due to convene.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported multiple strikes in the south and east. The Israeli military said it hit “terror infrastructure sites in multiple areas across Lebanon,” including “a military compound used by Hezbollah to conduct training and courses” for members of the Iran-backed group.
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Lebanon’s Health Ministry said four people were wounded in a strike on the border town of Taybeh. The National News Agency reported that several employees of the state electricity company were among the wounded when their truck passed a vehicle that was being targeted.
The attacks come as the ceasefire monitoring committee — which includes the United States, France, the United Nations, Lebanon and Israel — is set to meet Thursday to assess implementation of a truce in place since November 2024. Despite the agreement, Israeli operations have intensified in recent weeks amid simmering tensions and tit-for-tat fire along the frontier.
On Tuesday, two people were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including one person about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Beirut. Since the ceasefire took effect, around 340 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, according to a tally of Health Ministry reports compiled by AFP.
The strikes landed as senior officials gathered in Paris for discussions on Lebanon’s security and the future of Hezbollah’s arsenal. The Lebanese army chief attended the talks alongside American and Saudi officials, with France and the United States pressing Beirut to accelerate efforts to rein in the powerful Shiite movement.
Under a government-approved plan, the Lebanese army is slated to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River by year’s end, with subsequent steps envisioned for the rest of the country. Israel has accused Hezbollah of rearming in violation of the ceasefire and has questioned the army’s capacity to dismantle the group’s military infrastructure.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described the latest Israeli strikes as “an Israeli message to the Paris conference dedicated to supporting the Lebanese army,” underscoring the political stakes surrounding the security talks and the ceasefire’s future.
Hezbollah, which has not publicly commented on the latest attacks, has long maintained a network of positions, storage sites and training facilities across southern Lebanon and has engaged in frequent cross-border exchanges with Israel since the start of last year’s hostilities. The group is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countries, though it is also a major political actor in Lebanon’s governing system.
There was no immediate information on damage assessments from the Israeli strikes beyond the reported injuries, and it was not clear whether the attacks would affect the ceasefire committee’s meeting schedule. The United Nations has repeatedly urged restraint from both sides and pressed for the restoration of calm along the Blue Line.
The developments highlight the high-risk backdrop to the Paris talks and the monitoring committee’s session. Any further escalation could jeopardize an uneasy truce that was meant to end more than a year of hostilities and stabilize southern Lebanon, even as diplomatic pressure builds for concrete steps on disarmament south of the Litani River.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
