JERUSALEM(National times)- Israel’s military said it struck Hezbollah targets in several areas of Lebanon on Friday (Jan 9), a day after the Lebanese army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm the group. Under US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed group, which was weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel including two months of all-out war that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire. Despite the truce, Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives, and has maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic, accusing the group of rearming. In a statement on Friday, the Israeli military said it struck “several areas in Lebanon”, targeting “weapons storage facilities and a weapons production site that were used for the rehabilitation and military build-up of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation”. “Additionally, several launch sites and rocket launchers, along with military structures, were struck,” it added. Lebanese official news agency NNA reported strikes on southern Lebanon in areas far from the border, as well as in the eastern Bekaa area where Hezbollah has a strong presence. No casualties were immediately reported. “The targets that were struck, and Hezbollah’s reestablishment activity in these sites, constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and pose a threat to the State of Israel,” the military statement said.

“ENCOURAGING ANNOUNCEMENTS”

Lebanon’s army said Thursday it had “achieved the objectives of the first phase” of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area south of the Litani River – around 30km from the Israeli border – with the intention to extend it to the rest of the country. Israel said the efforts were encouraging but not enough. “The ceasefire agreement … states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “Efforts made toward this end by the Lebanese government and the Lebanese armed forces are an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient,” it added. Lebanese official media said a strike on Thursday killed one person near the southern city of Sidon, as Israel’s army said it targeted a Hezbollah operative. Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River and have its military infrastructure dismantled in the evacuated areas. The group has refused to surrender its weapons. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the “encouraging announcements by the Lebanese authorities,” calling for the disarmament process to be pursued “resolutely”. “The second phase of the plan will be a decisive step,” he wrote on X, adding that “the ceasefire agreement must be strictly respected by all parties.” “Lebanon’s sovereignty must be fully restored,” he added, saying an international conference would soon be held in Paris “to provide them with the concrete means to guarantee this sovereignty.”