Israel has carried out airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon. Thursday's strikes come as the deadline to disarm Hezbollah looms. The attacks happened a day before a meeting of a committee monitoring a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The ceasefire ended the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago. The Israeli military said that it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and military sites. Lebanon's National News Agency reported that the strikes stretched from Mount Rihan to the northeastern Hermel region. The U.S. has increased pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah in recent weeks.
The Lebanese army has condemned Israel's airstrikes on suburbs of Beirut, warning that such attacks are weakening the role of Lebanon's armed forces that might eventually suspend cooperation with the committee monitoring the truce that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war. The army's statement Friday came hours after the Israeli military struck several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs that it said held underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production. The Lebanese army said it started coordinating with the committee observing the ceasefire after Israel's military issued a warning and sent patrols to the areas that were to be struck to search them.
