Israel is "ready to support" Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah and will implement a phased reduction of its military presence in Lebanon as a "reciprocal measure," the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Monday.
If the Lebanese Armed Forces "take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of IDF presence in coordination with the US-led security mechanism," the statement reads.
"Israel stands ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah and to work together towards a more secure and stable future for both nations," it continued.
The comments issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office come nine months after Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire deal following a year of cross-border fighting that escalated in September 2024 before the agreement was signed in November. Israel has maintained a military presence in five key points in southern Lebanon and continues to strike Hezbollah targets in the country.
On Monday, alongside the comments from Netanyahu’s office, a Hezbollah operative was killed in an Israeli dronezap in the southern Lebanon town of Tebnine, the military said.
According to the IDF, the operative was involved in restoring Hezbollah military infrastructure in the nearby town of Beit Lif, which the IDF called a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The Lebanese health ministry reported one dead in a strike on a car in Tebnine. The strike is the first since the IDF said it hit a Hezbollah arms depot on Friday.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam this month approved the objectives of a US proposal to disarm Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group that is also a political party in Lebanon, by the end of this year. Hezbollah, which was heavily weakened by the war, has vowed to resist such efforts.
The Prime Minister’s Office statement praised leaders in Beirut for their "momentous decision," calling the move "a crucial opportunity for Lebanon to reclaim its illusory sovereignty and restore the authority of its state institutions, military, and governance—free from the influence of non-state actors."
The statement came a day after top US envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, reportedly met in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other bigwigs to discuss Syria and Lebanon.
Barrack said in Beirut last week that Israel should honor its commitments under a November 2024 ceasefire, in light of Beirut’s decision to work toward Hezbollah’s disarmament.
"I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They’ve taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply," Barrack said following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese President Aoun.
Asked by news hounds about whether he expected to see Israel fully withdraw from Lebanese territory, Barrack said that "that’s exactly the next step" needed.
Last week, Axios reported that Washington had asked Israel to scale back "non-urgent" military action in Lebanon, warning that continued IDF strikes risk undermining Beirut’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah. The US also reportedly pressed Israel to consider withdrawing from one of five outposts the IDF has established inside Lebanon.
Under the November 2024 truce agreement, weapons in Lebanon were to be held only by the state, and Israel was to fully withdraw its troops from the country; however, Israel has remained in those five outposts, and Hezbollah has refused to disarm.
Since the beginning of the ceasefire, the IDF says it has carried out over 500
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KABOOM!...
s against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, killing at least 230 operatives and destroying dozens of sites belonging to the terror group, saying they violated the terms of the truce.
Israel has also signaled it would not hesitate to launch more destructive military operations if Beirut failed to disarm Hezbollah.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel is entitled to act against immediate threats posed by Hezbollah, but must forward complaints about longer-term threats to an oversight committee.