Khaberni - The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said on Thursday evening that the Israeli occupation army has completed preparation of a plan in recent weeks to launch a comprehensive attack against Hezbollah sites, should the government and army in Lebanon fail to fulfill their commitment to dismantle the party's arms by the end of 2025.
The Broadcasting Authority quoted unnamed Israeli security sources saying that the plan was prepared by the army command with the participation of the Northern Command and the intelligence and operations divisions, in anticipation of the collapse of political efforts led by Beirut to disarm Hezbollah.
The same sources indicated, according to the authority, that the air force conducted extensive training in recent days in domestic airspace and over the Mediterranean Sea, involving fighter jets, aimed at increasing readiness for the potential execution of a military operation in southern Lebanon.
The authority quoted a senior security official saying that Israel has informed the United States that it would act on its own to disarm Hezbollah if it is not done effectively, even if it leads to days of fighting or renewed confrontations on the northern front.
The official added that Washington conveyed the Israeli warning to the Lebanese side, but Beirut clarified that the operation is complex and requires additional time to achieve the requirements that were set.
This is the second time in two weeks that the Israeli media has discussed a plan to expand operations against Hezbollah.
On November 30, Channel 13 reported that the Israeli army had presented an operational plan to expand attacks against Hezbollah, during a special meeting held with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the participation of several ministers and security officials.
This comes despite Israel violating almost daily the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in effect since November 27, 2024, which has resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of people as well as massive material damage.
Hezbollah Interjects
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority's discussion of the plan comes hours after the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc—representing Hezbollah in parliament—considered "the Lebanese authority committed another blunder by naming a civilian to participate in the Ceasefire Monitoring Committee," which supervises the ceasefire agreement.
The bloc stated, in a release quoted by the Lebanese news agency, that "this step is contrary even to previous official positions that linked the participation of civilians with the cessation of hostilities."
The Ceasefire Mechanism Committee was established pursuant to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, monitors its implementation, and includes Lebanon, France, Israel, the United States, and UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
On August 5, the Lebanese Cabinet approved confining all arms—including those possessed by Hezbollah—to state hands, and tasked the army with devising and implementing a plan before the end of 2025.
However, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, on multiple occasions, stated they reject this, demanding the Israeli army withdraw entirely from Lebanese territories.
UK's Position
In this context, the UK's Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Hamish Falconer, expressed on Thursday his country's readiness to assist Lebanon in preventing Israel from executing its escalation threats.
The British minister conveyed "his country’s readiness to support the Lebanese army to enable it to implement the decision of the Lebanese government to extend its sovereignty over all its territories and confine arms to its legitimate forces."
It was supposed to be that the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect about a year ago, would end aggression waged by Israel on Lebanon in October 2023, which escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024, leaving more than 4,000 dead and over 17,000 injured.
Israel challenges the agreement by continuing its occupation of 5 Lebanese hills in the south seized during the last war, in addition to other Lebanese areas it has occupied for decades.
