All articles tagged with #lebanon
IDF forces found more than 150 weapons in the Hadatha village in southern Lebanon, destroyed over 90 Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites, and killed over 20 militants. The update follows earlier strikes, including the destruction of a 200-meter underground tunnel in Majdal Zoun, underscoring ongoing Israeli operations in the Security Zone.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, visiting soldiers in southern Lebanon, said Hezbollah is exhausted and Israel now controls key terrain around Beaufort Ridge, describing it as saturated with Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure including underground tunnels. He stressed Lebanon's ceasefire obligations to clear Hezbollah infrastructure and warned Israel will continue decisive offensive actions if the ceasefire is violated. Netanyahu denied reports that Trump blocked Israeli operations and said Lebanon talks continue, including a pilot program for the Lebanese Armed Forces to verify Hezbollah clearance.
Trump pursues a trilateral Iran peace framework using two contrasting aides: Vice President JD Vance, who backed a June 17 MOU with Iran to end the war and stabilize the region, and hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who pushes pressure on Tehran and shepherded a separate Israel–Lebanon framework. Officials say they are two tools on a Swiss Army knife rather than rivals, with the deals (the MOU, a Lebanon track, and Rubio’s framework with Israel) interconnected but not contradictory. While the arrangements aim to deter Iran’s influence and stabilize oil markets, they also carry potential domestic political implications for the 2028 Republican race.
The House defeated Rashida Tlaib's Lebanon war powers resolution 189-235, with 22 Democrats siding with Republicans. The symbolic measure would bar U.S. forces from hostilities in Lebanon, even though the U.S. is not at war there. Rep. Massie and Rep. Boebert were among the few Republicans who supported it; Democrats argued the move would complicate policy during a volatile region while the U.S. remains cautious about escalation surrounding Israel-Hezbollah dynamics.
The House rejected Rashida Tlaib’s second bid to curb U.S. military options in Lebanon, a vote that underscored a widening Democratic split over Israel amid Gaza and Iran-war tensions, with 189-235 defeating the measure; 187 Democrats backed it—up from 91 four weeks earlier—while Republicans dubbed the move moot since the U.S. isn’t at war in Lebanon, as leaders also weigh a separate bill to cut Israel’s security aid.
The Israel Defense Forces destroyed a Hezbollah underground complex in the Majdal Zoun area of southern Lebanon, a tunnel over 200 meters long and 25 meters deep that housed hundreds of weapons and several rocket silos built with Iranian support. In parallel, the IDF struck Hezbollah command centers and a launch pad in southern Lebanon as part of ongoing efforts amid a US-brokered framework to remove Hezbollah from southern Lebanon and disarm the group, with Israel signaling it will not redeploy while threats to northern communities persist.
The US released the full text of a trilateral framework with Israel and Lebanon aimed at ending decades of conflict, establishing diplomatic ties, and laying groundwork for a comprehensive peace agreement. It envisions the Lebanese Armed Forces gradually taking security control in pilot zones as the IDF redeploys, under a Security Annex with verification and a Military Coordination Group, plus US-led international reconstruction aid and safeguards to prevent funding non-state armed groups. Working groups will draft the full peace and security agreement and both governments commit to good-faith engagement until a lasting peace is achieved.
Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri asserted that the US-brokered framework for a peace deal with Israel “will not be adopted” or implemented in its current form, days after Hezbollah denounced the agreement as humiliating and demanded a different path. Hezbollah leaders criticized the deal as a surrender of sovereignty, while Washington touted the framework and pledged humanitarian aid; the dispute highlights ongoing tensions over Hezbollah’s disarmament and Lebanon’s sovereignty amid broader regional pressures.
Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon, killing at least one person, as Hezbollah rejected a US-brokered four-point peace framework that would transfer exclusive security control of vacated areas to the Lebanese army while allowing Israel to maintain an expanded security zone; Netanyahu called the agreement historic, Israel says it will extend its stay, and Hezbollah vows continued resistance amid ongoing cross-border violence.
A Jerusalem Post analysis notes that Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since 1948, with armistice agreements ending active fighting but not delivering peace. A trilateral framework signed by Israel, Lebanon, and the United States pledges to conclusively end the conflict and address its root causes, a historic shift that depends on Hezbollah’s disarmament, Lebanese forces’ control of the south, and challenging political-security commitments. Past attempts, such as the 1983 May 17 Agreement, collapsed, so skepticism remains, but the framing marks a possible turning point after eight decades of hostility.
Captain David Hazutt, 21, from Ashkelon, a platoon commander in Golani Brigade's 12th Battalion, was killed and another soldier wounded when his unit searching for a terror suspect near Deit Siryan in southern Lebanon encountered a Hezbollah fighter. The attacker was killed, and the IDF launched operations against terror targets; the army later said it located the attacker in a nearby structure and killed him. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Galam offered condolences, noting Hazutt's frontline service and that he leaves behind his mother and sister.
With the White House cool on Israel’s war with Hezbollah, Trump proposes that Syria take on Hezbollah instead; Syria denies plans to intervene and says his comments were misconstrued, while Trump doubles down, sparking concern in Lebanon and Israel about a potential shift in regional strategy.
A Washington-brokered framework aims to curb Hezbollah and Iran’s influence in Lebanon through a two-track process (security and diplomacy) and a staged Israeli withdrawal from pilot zones. The pact is significant but fragile, risking Hezbollah protests and potential clashes with Iran’s broader negotiations, while highlighting how shared concerns about Iran shaped negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
A Washington-drafted 14-point framework to end hostilities between Lebanon and Israel could block war-crime victims from seeking accountability and undermine Lebanon’s bid to grant ICC jurisdiction, experts warn, potentially stifling future UN fact-finding and investigations.
A US-brokered framework between Israel and Lebanon sets a sequenced path for Lebanon to regain sovereign control and for Hezbollah disarmament to be verified, but it does not mandate an immediate Israeli withdrawal. It envisions two pilot zones where the Lebanese army would assume security duties as Israel gradually redeploys, with displaced civilians allowed to return under Lebanese control. Hezbollah rejected the framework and warned it threatens Lebanon’s sovereignty, while analysts doubt success without Hezbollah’s buy-in. The deal contrasts with the Islamabad MOU and faces major hurdles, including Iran’s reaction and questions about enforcement and long-term compliance.