Israel weighs escalation in Lebanon amid Hezbollah buildup claims

Israel is considering intensifying military action against Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollah is rebuilding its military strength and violating ceasefire agreements, according to Israeli media reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a high-level security meeting on Thursday evening to discuss what officials described as Hezbollah’s "renewed efforts" to restore its offensive and defensive capabilities.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted an unnamed official as saying the group "is attempting - and succeeding - in rebuilding its offensive and defensive capabilities” and “is working to reorganize its military leadership".

Israeli sources alleged that Hezbollah recently managed to smuggle "hundreds of short-range rockets from Syria into Lebanon".

The Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli security cabinet, known as the "small cabinet", met to assess "Hezbollah’s violations of the agreement” and what officials see as “indications of its attempt to regain and strengthen its power".

Tensions have also risen between Israel and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Senior Israeli army officials accused certain UN peacekeepers of exceeding their mandate.

The Hebrew news site Ynet cited a senior Northern Command officer who said: "We encounter them documenting the movements of Israeli army forces, not the border or the matters that fall within their mandate. We see them not as an assisting force, but as a foreign force engaged in suspicious activities that exceed their duties."

The comments follow an incident in which a French UNIFIL unit shot down an Israeli drone earlier this week. The Israeli army said the drone "posed no threat", and that the French troops "acted without authority in an attempt to demonstrate their importance".

Military officials also claimed that the situation reflects a "broader trend".

One senior officer told Ynet: "Since the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate by a UN Security Council decision two months ago - which stipulated that this would be its final year of operations on the Lebanon-Israel border - there has been an excessive increase in activity by various battalions approaching the fence and obstructing Israeli army operations."

In a separate report, Yedioth Ahronoth claimed that UNIFIL has for nearly two decades provided "silent cover" for Hezbollah to entrench itself in southern Lebanon, building "military infrastructure, weapons depots, tunnels, and observation posts near UN positions".

The report alleged that UNIFIL troops "turned a blind eye", allowing Hezbollah to advance its "Galilee Occupation Plan" under their watch.

In Lebanon, President Joseph Aoun responded to recent Israeli actions by ordering the Lebanese army to confront "any Israeli incursion" into the country.

His remarks came after Israeli forces allegedly entered the southern town of Blida overnight Wednesday and killed a municipal employee during a raid on the local government building.

"This attack, which falls within a series of aggressive Israeli practices, came shortly after the meeting of the Mechanism Committee for Monitoring the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement," Aoun said in a statement.

"The committee should not be limited to recording violations but must work to end them by pressuring Israel to abide by the provisions of the November agreement and to stop violating Lebanese sovereignty."