Israeli forces have conducted a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what they describe as Hezbollah infrastructure. The attacks on Wednesday, 22 December 2025, come as a critical year-end deadline approaches for the Lebanese state to disarm the militant group in the country's south.
Strikes Violate Fragile Ceasefire
The latest military action represents a fresh violation of a ceasefire that has been in place for over a year, ending a previous 13-month conflict. According to the independent conflict monitor ACLED, Israel has bombed Lebanon once every four hours on average since the truce was implemented. In contrast, Hezbollah has shelled Israel just once in the week following the ceasefire's establishment in December 2024.
Israeli warplanes specifically bombed the valleys of Houmin, Wadi Azza and Nimeiriya in the Nabatieh area. Residents reported that Israeli drones continued to hover over the region and the eastern Bekaa valley long after the initial strikes. The Israeli military stated it hit launching sites and military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, whose presence it labelled a breach of understandings with Lebanon.
Disarmament Deadline and Rising Rhetoric
The strikes are accompanied by increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Israeli officials. A US-approved plan, adopted by the Lebanese army, mandates that by the end of the year, all Hezbollah infrastructure, weapons, and personnel must be cleared from the area south of the Litani River, approximately 20 miles from the Israeli border.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told parliament in November, "There will be no calm in Beirut, nor order and stability in Lebanon, until the security of the state of Israel is guaranteed … Hezbollah: we will disarm them." While Israeli forces are meant to withdraw, they continue to occupy five points in southern Lebanon and conduct regular ground operations.
Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri stated on 17 December that the government was nearly finished with disarmament in the south and was "strictly observing" the ceasefire, accusing Israel of continual violations. Israel rejects this, asserting that Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its forces along the border.
Diplomatic Tensions and Civilian Involvement
Amid the violence, Israeli and Lebanese officials continue to meet in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura to discuss the ceasefire. A recent meeting included civilian representatives for non-military discussions, such as potential economic cooperation. This move sparked outrage in Lebanon, where engagement with Israel remains a political taboo.
Israel maintains that its diplomatic engagement with the Lebanese state is separate from its military actions against Hezbollah. The situation was further inflamed by an Israeli drone strike on Monday, 21 December, which killed three men in a car near Saida, far north of the Litani River. Israel claimed one victim, a Lebanese army warrant officer, was a Hezbollah member planning attacks. Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah denied any link, with Defence Minister Michel Menassa calling the accusation a "malicious attack" on the military.
With reports that an expanded offensive against Hezbollah may be discussed in an expected meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, and with the Lebanese state appealing internationally to stop near-daily attacks on its sovereignty, the region remains on a knife-edge as the disarmament deadline draws near.
