Israeli media report plans for 'limited offensive' on Lebanon

Israeli forces are moving closer to launching what Israeli media describe as a limited offensive in Lebanon, according to a report on Friday by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The paper said the plan would rely on a new round of air strikes across Lebanon, targeting sites that Israel claims are linked to Hezbollah's weapons production, including locations in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut.

The report repeated Israeli claims that these facilities were hidden underground or placed in residential areas, allegations which Lebanon and Hezbollah have consistently rejected.

Israel also alleged that some sites were used to convert heavy, unguided rockets into precision weapons. Israel routinely inflates such claims, despite failing to provide verifiable evidence.

Israeli officials estimate that Hezbollah holds tens of thousands of rockets and has produced thousands of drones since the November 2023 ceasefire. Yet Israel itself has systematically violated that agreement with near-daily strikes that have killed more than 300 people, including civilians.

The paper further claimed that Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force had rebuilt offensive capabilities and was returning to areas near the border. Lebanon has dismissed these accusations, insisting that only the Lebanese army is deployed south of the Litani River in line with UN Resolutions 1701, noting that Israel's attacks were making this task difficult. 

Hezbollah has also strongly denied Israel's claims that it was rearming or rebuilding military infrastructure. The group says Israel is fabricating these allegations to justify attacks on civilian areas and to create a pretext for a wider assault. It has repeatedly called on the Lebanese state and the international community to respond to Israel's ongoing violations.

The timing of these media reports mirrors a broader Israeli narrative portraying Hezbollah as resurgent. The New Arab's Arabic edition notes that this messaging aims to pressure Beirut over disarmament demands while conditioning Israeli public opinion for a possible escalation that goes beyond Israel’s current pattern of unlawful daily strikes.

Israel continues to occupy five strategic positions inside southern Lebanon, converting them into military outposts stretching from the area Israel refers to as Mount Dov, in the occupied Shebaa Farms, to Ras Naqoura.

Yedioth Ahronoth also cited Israeli military assessments alleging that each rocket launcher seized by the Lebanese army south of the Litani River was replaced by another upgraded launcher in the Bekaa.

Israeli officials said they would continue striking what they call production sites, including a Bekaa location bombed this week for the ninth time since the ceasefire.

The Israeli army also publicised an operation earlier this week in which soldiers from the 769th Brigade demolished several buildings in the village of Houla.

Israel claimed the buildings were used by Hezbollah and that old explosive devices were found inside, again without providing independent verification.

Local residents have long accused the Israeli army of destroying civilian property under the guise of security claims.

It comes as the UN peacekeeping forces reported on Friday that a wall erected by the Israeli army southwest of Yaroun had crossed the Blue Line near Yaroun, blocking more than 4,000 square metres of Lebanese land.

The Blue Line was demarcated by the UN in 2000 to verify Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon after its 22-year occupation. It is not an official international border but serves as the de facto dividing line between Israel and Lebanon.

"Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council Resolution 1701 and of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," UNIFIL said.

"We again call on the [Israeli forces] to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it."