Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, on the outskirts of Hermel. The strikes killed at least five people and wounded five others. The IDF claimed the sites were used by Hezbollah for training purpose.
Details are still emerging about who was actually killed. An anonymous Hezbollah official was quoted in the media as saying that four of the five slain were members of the group, though it has not been confirmed in official statements and it isn’t clear what the members were actually doing when they were killed.
Israel said the presence of Hezbollah training sites “violated” the ceasefire agreement. That does not appear to be the case, however, as these sites are well north of the Litani River, and the ceasefire only requires Hezbollah sites to be removed south of the river.
Israel is playing up the idea of Lebanon’s disarmament of Hezbollah, and is calling for them to begin in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, claiming the area to be “a hub for advanced missiles and drones.”
The Lebanese cabinet approved the disarmament scheme in general at the behest of the US, but Lebanese Army officials have reportedly expressed reservation about trying to forcibly disarm Hezbollah, and Hezbollah has made clear they will oppose the move so long as Israel continues to attack.
Israel last invaded Lebanon in late 2024, and retains ground troops in southern Lebanon to this day. The IDF has reportedly built a new training base within the occupied Golan Heights to prepare troops for further invasions of Lebanon in the future.
