Why did Israel launch fresh strikes in Lebanon days before Hezbollah disarmament meeting?

Jerusalem: Israel’s air force carried out strikes on multiple locations in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, saying the targets were linked to infrastructure used by Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The strikes came ahead of a key Lebanese government meeting on Thursday, where the country’s army commander is expected to brief ministers on progress and plans to disarm Hezbollah in sensitive border areas.

According to Israel’s military, warnings were issued nearly two hours before the attacks through its Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, who said the air force would strike militant targets in villages in the eastern Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that one of the homes hit in the Bekaa Valley village of Manara had belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, identified as a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024.

Lebanese authorities said the strikes took place north of the Litani River and well away from the Israeli border. The areas fall outside the zone where Hezbollah’s armed presence is meant to be curtailed under ongoing security arrangements. The Lebanese government has stated that by the end of 2025, all areas close to the border with Israel, known as the south Litani area, should be cleared of Hezbollah weapons.

The planned disarmament discussions come in the aftermath of a prolonged conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that lasted around 14 months. The fighting began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel a day after Hamas carried out attacks in southern Israel. Israel responded with extensive air and ground operations in Lebanon, including a major bombardment campaign in September 2024 followed by a ground invasion. The conflict ended in November 2024 with a ceasefire brokered by the United States.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon, primarily targeting Hezbollah members. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has said that at least 127 civilians have been killed in these strikes since the truce. On Monday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a drone strike on a car in the southern village of Braikeh wounded two people. The Israeli military said the vehicle was carrying two Hezbollah members.

The Lebanese army had already begun disarming some Palestinian factions last year, while the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons remains politically sensitive inside the country. Thursday’s meeting, to be attended by army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal, is expected to be a key moment in determining how far and how fast the Lebanese state will move on the issue, even as Israeli military pressure continues.

(With AFP inputs)