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Israel reportedly carried out a series of airstrikes across southern and northeastern Lebanon just ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline for the terrorist organization Hezbollah to disarm.
The strikes hit Hezbollah infrastructure sites and launching sites in a military compound that the terror organization uses to train and hold courses for its members, according to The Associated Press, which cited the Israeli military. Israel also said it had struck Hezbollah military structures that stored weapons.
The strikes were launched just ahead of a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah one year ago. The cohort also includes the U.S., France and United Nations peacekeepers deployed along the Israel-Lebanon border.
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Meanwhile, U.S., Saudi and French officials are set to participate in a meeting with Lebanon’s army commander, Gen. Rodolph Haikal. The group is expected to discuss ways to assist the Lebanese army in boosting its presence in the border area, according to the AP.
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The meeting in Paris is also meant to dissuade Israel from escalation, according to Reuters, which cited European and Lebanese diplomats and officials. The officials also said that there are concerns of political paralysis and party politics playing a role in the situation, and even possibly slowing Lebanese President Joseph Aoun from pressing for Hezbollah’s disarmament, as the country prepares for legislative elections in 2026.
The Lebanese government has said it anticipates that the army will have the border area south of the Litani River cleared of Hezbollah’s armed presence by the end of the year.
Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon Nabih Berri said that the strikes were “an Israeli message to the Paris meeting,” according to the AP.
“The fire belt of Israeli airstrikes is to honor the mechanism’s meeting tomorrow,” Berri said during a parliament meeting in Beirut.
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On Wednesday, Israel said it killed a Hezbollah terrorist operating in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the terrorist was collecting intelligence on the Israeli military’s activity in the area and “took part in Hezbollah’s attempts to reestablish its infrastructure.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the IDF for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
