The IDF has conducted frequent bombings across the border, even amid a precarious ceasefire
Overnight on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched airstrikes targeting suspected Hezbollah locations in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reports indicate these strikes were paired with incursions into border towns, during which Israeli soldiers destroyed two homes.
Even with a delicate US-mediated ceasefire in place, Israel has regularly targeted its northern neighbor, claiming Lebanon has breached its obligations under the agreement.
In a Thursday statement, the IDF announced it had hit Hezbollah’s “weapons storage facilities, missile launchers, and military sites” on the other side of the border.
“The presence of these infrastructure sites constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” it said.
Lebanese news portal Naharnet reported Thursday that the IDF also carried out ground incursions and sabotage operations in two southern Lebanese border towns, noting such attacks have grown more frequent in recent weeks.
Per the outlet, earlier this month Israeli forces sprayed glyphosate—an herbicide banned in many countries over cancer concerns—on the Lebanese side of the border. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the act as a “crime against the environment.”
At the time, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed Israel had notified it of plans to spray a “non-toxic chemical substance” in the area.
Last week, UNIFIL spokeswoman Kandice Ardiel said the peacekeeping force will withdraw from Lebanon by mid-2027 after its UN mandate expires this December—nearly five decades after its establishment.
This drawdown comes as fears of a new Hezbollah-Israel clash escalate. The two sides entered a US-backed ceasefire in late 2024 to end nearly a year of fighting, which began when Hezbollah attacked Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. However, Israeli forces have since regularly struck Lebanese territory, accusing the militant group of breaking the truce. The IDF has also repeatedly shelled UNIFIL positions.
Last week, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Aleksandr Rudakov stated Russia is using its bilateral and multilateral diplomatic channels to work with all parties to “maintain the fragile ceasefire.”