Israel Bombs Eastern and Southern Lebanon Before Hezbollah Disarmament Negotiations
Days before government negotiations on disarming Hezbollah and expanding state power, Israel starts new airstrikes throughout Lebanon.
Days before a crucial government conference on Hezbollah disarmament, Israel increased military pressure by conducting several airstrikes over southern and eastern Lebanon late Monday and early Tuesday.
One of the hits, which occurred Tuesday at around one in the morning, demolished a three-story commercial building in Sidon, the third-largest city in Lebanon and a coastal city in the south. The incident occurred before Lebanon’s army commander was supposed to inform government leaders on attempts to eliminate Hezbollah’s armed presence close to the Israeli border.
Joseph Aoun, the president of Lebanon, denounced the strikes, claiming they undercut international attempts to reduce tensions and erode Lebanon’s efforts to reestablish state authority in regions that have been dominated by terrorist organizations for a long time.
The building appeared unoccupied at the time of the strike, according to an Associated Press photographer at the Sidon location. It was situated in a business sector with workshops and mechanic shops. While rescue crews looked for potential victims, at least one person was transported away by ambulance. There were no early reports of casualties.
Israel’s military claimed to have targeted Hezbollah and Hamas infrastructure and weapons storage facilities, admitting that the locations were in civilian neighborhoods but accusing the militant organizations of operating there.
Since a truce mediated by the United States put an end to a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, Israeli military actions have been almost daily. Israel claims that the Lebanese commitment to disarm armed organizations, which was part of the truce, has not been completely carried out.
Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-speaking military spokesperson, warned villages in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley to evacuate on social media prior to the raids. One of the targeted homes belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024, according to the state-run National News Agency of Lebanon. There were no recorded casualties in those areas.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, two persons were injured earlier on Monday in a different drone attack on a car in the southern village of Braikeh. According to Israel, two Hezbollah members were the target of the strike.
Hezbollah’s armed presence will be eradicated from all areas south of the Litani River by the end of 2025, according to the government, while Lebanon’s army has already started disarming Palestinian militant groups. Gen. Rudolph Haikal, the army chief, is slated to attend a government meeting on Thursday, where the matter would likely take center stage.
The U.N. reports that after the war officially ceased, Israel has carried out airstrikes throughout Lebanon in contravention of the ceasefire, killing at least 127 civilians.
