US President Donald Trump has given Lebanon the deadline of December 31 to disarm Hezbollah and other terror groups in the country.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Israel halted a planned strike against Hezbollah on Saturday evening after the Lebanese army moved quickly to address the threat, marking the first time the IDF has canceled an operation almost in real time due to action by Lebanese forces.
The incident began around 3 p.m., when the IDF issued a public warning that it intended to target Hezbollah operatives embedded in a residential area of the southern Lebanese village of Yanua.
Such notices are typically followed within hours by an airstrike, allowing civilians time to leave the area.
Instead, several hours later, the IDF released a second, unusual update saying that shortly after the warning was issued, the Lebanese army requested additional time to intervene. Israeli officials said the military is monitoring whether Lebanese forces fully neutralize the Hezbollah presence at the site.
Senior IDF officials told The Jerusalem Post earlier this year that the Lebanese army had shown notable improvement in dismantling remaining Hezbollah weapons and positions in southern Lebanon.
That assessment, however, has shifted in recent months, with Israeli officials saying progress has stalled, prompting Israel to step up operations inside Lebanon.
The incident comes just over a year since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. In spite of the truce, Israel has continued strikes against Hezbollah as the terror group refuses to disarm.
Responding to criticism over military action in Lebanon, Israeli officials have insisted that dealing with terror threats does not violate the truce and Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm as well as the Lebanese army’s failure to deal with terror threats require Israel to defend itself.
Last week, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter urged Beirut to pursue peace and help disarm Hezbollah, speaking in a video interview with the English‑language outlet This Is Beirut.
“It’s very important for me to reach out to the people of Lebanon and let you know that we very much want to pursue peace with you. We want to live together in peace and harmony,” Jerusalem’s envoy said in a recorded address.
US President Donald Trump has given Lebanon the deadline of December 31 to disarm Hezbollah and other terror groups in the country.
Israel halts airstrike, allows Lebanese army to deal with Hezbollah terror threat appeared first on World Israel News.