Israeli army to present plan for 'swift offensive' against Hezbollah

The Israeli army is preparing options for military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon, seeking to avoid a prolonged war of attrition and to limit the offensive to "just a few days," according to Israeli newspaper Maariv.

Leaders of Israel’s security establishment are expected to hear from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his visit to the US where he met with President Donald Trump.

Israel’s security establishment intends to present Netanyahu with a range of options to address what it describes as Hezbollah’s continued attempts to rearm, with the Israeli army believing that strong military actions could once again push the Lebanese government to take steps to "assert its sovereignty" in confronting Hezbollah.

Some reports have said Trump gave Netanyahu the green light to launch another offensive against Hezbollah if it continues to resist attempts to disarm it, as stipulated in a November 2024 ceasefire deal.

According to Maariv, this situation is prompting the Americans to side with Israel regarding the anticipated military move against the Lebanese Shia armed group

The Israeli newspaper said earlier this week that the security establishment intends to present Netanyahu with a plan to carry out a major operation in the near future against Hezbollah.

Officials within the security establishment claim that "developments in Lebanon do not meet the conditions of the ceasefire," and say they are working to raise the Israeli army’s readiness to carry out an operation if necessary.

There are rising fears in Lebanon of a renewed offensive, despite reassurances from President Joseph Aoun in a New Year’s Eve message where he said, "the spectre of war is now far away."

A Lebanese army plan to disarm the region south of the Litani River, closer to the Israeli border, was to conclude by year-end. The Lebanese government says the army is now ready to move onto phase two of the plan north of the river.

Beirut denies Israel’s claims that disarmament is not happening, and the Lebanese army has organised multiple media tours to the south to showcase its progress.

Hezbollah came out significantly weakened from the war, which spiralled into a full-blown conflict in September 2024 after a year of cross-border fire.

Despite this, the group is believed to retain stockpiles of long-range and ballistic missiles and drones. The Lebanese government has pledged to impose a monopoly on all arms and end military dualism in the country.

According to Maariv, Israeli officials also claim that France is currently refraining from using its influence to push forward the disarmament of Hezbollah. They point out that France is "a central player in Lebanon" and had committed to overseeing the Lebanese government’s implementation of the ceasefire agreement but is not acting as expected.

Both the US and France are in a five-member ceasefire monitoring committee, which also includes the UN.

Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are now taking part in the committee’s routine meetings – the first time civilian representatives from the enemy states have held direct talks since 1982.

Aoun says including civilians in the talks aims to solve issues through diplomacy and prevent a second war.

Under the 2024 US-brokered ceasefire, Israel was supposed to pull out all its forces from south Lebanon and halt attacks.

Despite this, Israeli forces continue to occupy five border posts inside Lebanese territory and carry out near-daily strikes, claiming that they are targeting Hezbollah to keep it weakened.

The latest attacks were on Friday when Israel launched a series of airstrikes across south Lebanon, claiming to hit a training complex belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force unit as well as other military installations.