By International Affairs Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): Israel has carried out a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon, claiming to have hit several Hezbollah-linked sites, including what it described as a training compound used by the group’s elite Radwan forces.
The Israeli military said the strikes, launched overnight on Monday, targeted “infrastructure used for planning and carrying out hostile activities against Israeli soldiers and civilians.” Additional military structures and a launch site were also hit, according to a statement.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the attacks struck areas around the towns of Izze, Romin, Jbaa, Zefta and Mount Safi. Several homes in Jbaa were reportedly damaged, though Lebanese authorities have yet to confirm any casualties.
The renewed escalation comes less than a week after civilian envoys from Israel and Lebanon took part in an unusual meeting of the UN-backed ceasefire monitoring committee in Naqoura—the first direct civilian-level engagement between the two sides in more than four decades. The mechanism, revived after years of dormancy, is intended to ease border tensions and support efforts towards de-escalation.
Despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect on November 27, 2024, following more than a year of cross-border attacks and a major escalation in September, Israel has maintained a military presence at five strategic outposts along the frontier. Under the terms of the deal, Israeli forces were expected to withdraw from southern Lebanon in January, but only a partial pullback has taken place.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says 335 people have been killed and 973 wounded by Israeli fire since the ceasefire came into force on Nov. 27, 2024. UNIFIL has recorded more than 10,000 Israeli air and ground violations during that period.
Last year’s ceasefire between Tel Aviv and Beirut followed more than a year of cross-border fire fuelled by the Gaza war, which left over 4,000 dead and 17,000 injured by Israeli bombings.
The Israeli military regularly conducts operations inside Lebanon, insisting they are aimed at neutralising Hezbollah threats. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the latest strikes.
[Photo: A view of the area after Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike earlier on the town of Jbaa in southern Lebanon on December 04, 2025. Several houses were damaged in the attack, and smoke was seen rising from the area. Photojournalist: Ahmad Kaddoura/AA]
