Israel escalates Lebanon strikes as tensions with Hezbollah rise

Paul Wallace, Bloomberg News on Nov 7, 2025

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Israel launched some of its heaviest airstrikes on Lebanon since it agreed to a ceasefire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah around a year ago.

The attacks late on Thursday, which Israel said were aimed at Hezbollah weapons sites and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon, have further stoked fears among Lebanese that the two sides will revert to war.

Israel’s military said it warned civilians in advance and gave them enough time to flee targeted areas. It’s unclear if there were any fatalities, though there were reports in Lebanese media of casaulties. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun called the strikes a “full-fledged crime.”

“Israel has spared no effort to demonstrate its rejection of any negotiated settlement between the two countries,” he said. “Your message has been received.”

The worsening situation comes with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza shaky and international powers trying to ensure it holds. Any flare-up between Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, would likely worsen tensions in the Palestinian territory.

Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a U.S.- and French-backed truce in November 2024, following months of skirmishes and then a full-on conflict for three months that killed thousands of people and displaced more than a million — mostly in Lebanon.

Israel has struck Hezbollah sites hundreds of times since then and killed dozens of people, according to the United Nations, but the truce has largely held. In recent weeks, Israel has accused Hezbollah of refusing to disarm, as per the terms of the ceasefire, and even building up its arsenal of rockets and other weapons with the help of Tehran.

This week Eurasia Group, a New York-based risk consultancy, said there is a 60% chance of the truce collapsing by January.

Lebanon’s government insists it is fulfilling its pledge to push Hezbollah to disarm but says the process will take time. It denies Israeli claims it’s “foot-dragging.”

“We won’t allow Lebanon to become a new front against us, and we shall take whatever action is required,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

‘Paralyzed Government’

Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and an envoy for Lebanon, said over the weekend that while the Lebanese government was trying to disarm Hezbollah, it was struggling.

“It’s a paralyzed government governed by a foreign terrorist organization,” Barrack said.

Lebanon has been in economic crisis for several years. Hezbollah, also a political party with significant support among Shia Muslims, holds plenty of sway over the government, even after many of its senior officials were killed and much of its weaponry was destroyed in last year’s war.

“In response to Lebanon’s failure to disarm Hezbollah, Israel is expected to resume sustained and large-scale air operations against Hezbollah and may also deploy troops across the border into Lebanon,” Eurasia analysts including Firas Maksad and Gregory Brew said in a note.

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—With assistance from Dana Khraiche.