JERUSALEM: The Israeli military on Wednesday announced a new &quot;counterterrorism&quot; operation in the north of the occupied West Bank. The military and internal security service said in a joint statement that they &quot;began operating as part of a broad counterterrorism operation in the area of northern Samaria&quot;, using the Israeli biblical term for part of the West Bank. The operation was new and not part of its counterterrorism operation launched in January 2024, which primarily targets Palestinian refugee camps, the Israeli army told AFP.

Middle East

Israel’s military launched a new counterterrorism operation in the northern occupied West Bank, separate from its 2024 campaign. A joint statement with internal security services said the broadened operation targets “northern Samaria,” using Israel’s biblical term for the area.

Israeli army announces new operation in northern West Bank

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday slammed Israel over its killing of Hezbollah&#39;s military chief, a day after the commander was targeted with a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. &quot;The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haytham Ali Tabatabai,&quot; the foreign ministry said in a statement. Tabatabai is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the start of a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities. &lsquo;Flagrant violation&rsquo;&nbsp;The killing &quot;constitutes a flagrant violation of the November 2024 ceasefire and a brutal breach of Lebanon&rsquo;s national sovereignty&quot;, the Iranian foreign ministry said. Hezbollah earlier confirmed the killing of &quot;the great commander&quot; Tabatabai. Largely unknown to the Lebanese public, Tabatabai was among the new commanders chosen to lead the group after the war. Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon since the truce, mostly claiming to be targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

‘The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haytham Ali Tabatabai,’ the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Iran slams Israel’s killing of Hezbollah military chief

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Israeli&rsquo;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel and India were strengthening their strategic partnership, after a meeting with India&rsquo;s commerce minister. &nbsp; Netanyahu, in a post on X on Sunday, stated: &ldquo;I met today in Jerusalem with India&rsquo;s Minister of Commerce &amp; Industry, @PiyushGoyal.&rdquo; &ldquo;Israel and India are strengthening our strategic partnership, more investments, more innovation, and a strong economic corridor from India through Israel to Europe.&rdquo; &lsquo;Building economic power&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Together we are building economic power,&rdquo; the Israeli prime minister said.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1992543314466259414&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=157dd920deac199260651d7196ba90606df41d93&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 773px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to the economic corridor initiative&#39;s official website, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) was officially announced on Sept. 9, 2023, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi.&nbsp; As of April 2025, the IMEC project is progressing according to the scheduled timelines, with major developments underway in the construction of transportation and logistics infrastructure, according to the website. &nbsp; Meanwhile, the Indian commerce minister also met with the Israeli president. India&rsquo;s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, in a post on X on Sunday, stated: &ldquo;Grateful for the warm welcome by H.E. @Isaac_Herzog, President of the State of Israel. Reiterated how Israel&rsquo;s innovation ecosystem coupled with India&rsquo;s talent, skill and scale can become a force multiplier for global good.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1992598071767904666&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=157dd920deac199260651d7196ba90606df41d93&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 600px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs&rsquo; brief on India-Israel bilateral relations published in July 2024, &ldquo;India is Israel&rsquo;s second-largest trading partner in Asia.&rdquo; India-Israel bilateral trade&nbsp;According to the brief, &ldquo;Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992, India-Israel bilateral trade and economic ties have progressed rapidly. From around USD 200 million in 1992 (comprising primarily of diamonds), merchandise trade diversified and reached around USD 10.77 billion (excluding defence) in FY 2022-23, with Indian exports at around USD 8.45 billion.&rdquo; &ldquo;In FY 2023-24 (April-March), the bilateral trade was USD 6.53 billion (excluding defense) with India&#39;s exports at USD 4.52 billion and Israel&#39;s exports at USD 2.0 billion.&rdquo; The &ldquo;Cumulative Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) from India to Israel from April 2000 to April 2024, was around USD 396 million,&rdquo; the brief said. &nbsp; Foreign Direct Investment&nbsp;&ldquo;In the period from April 2000 to March 2024, the direct FDI from Israel to India was around USD 314.87 million.&rdquo; &ldquo;In 2022, a consortium led by India&rsquo;s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) acquired the Haifa Port Company Ltd from the Government of Israel with an investment of USD 1.18 billion,&rdquo; the Indian External Affairs Ministry&rsquo;s brief states.

India

Israel’s prime minister after meeting India’s commerce minister says ‘Israel and India are strengthening our strategic partnership, more investments, more innovation, and a strong economic corridor from India through Israel to Europe’

India, Israel developing ‘a strong economic corridor’ to Europe: Netanyahu 

BERLIN:&nbsp;Germany is set to remove restrictions it imposed in August on arms exports to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip, the government announced Monday. &ldquo;The restrictions on arms exports to Israel ... will be lifted,&rdquo; government spokesman Sebastian Hille told reporters, adding that the decision &ldquo;will take effect on 24 November.&rdquo; Chancellor Friedrich Merz had justified the original August decision as a reaction to plans announced by the Israeli government at the time for an escalation in its Gaza City offensive. &ldquo;We have always stated that we would review this practice in light of developments on the ground,&rdquo; Hille said on Monday. &ldquo;Since 10 October, there has been a cease-fire in Gaza, which has also fundamentally stabilised,&rdquo; he added, noting that &ldquo;this forms the basis for this decision&rdquo; to lift the restrictions. &ldquo;We expect everyone to adhere to the agreements that have been made,&rdquo; Hille said, including &ldquo;maintaining the cease-fire, providing large-scale humanitarian aid.&rdquo;

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during an economic summit hosted by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin on November 17, 2025. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Europe

Americas

Germany is set to remove restrictions it imposed in August on arms exports to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip, the government announced Monday.

Germany to lift curbs on arms exports to Israel

BEIRUT:&nbsp;The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops on Sunday in the south of the country, while Israel&#39;s military said it mistook blue helmets for &quot;suspects&quot; and fired warning shots. The Israeli military blamed &quot;poor weather conditions&quot; and said it had not deliberately targeted UN troops. Earlier on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement that Israeli forces &quot;fired on UNIFIL peacekeepers from a Merkava tank from near a position Israel has established in Lebanese territory,&quot; adding that heavy machine gun rounds hit about five meters from their personnel. The force said the peacekeepers were able to &quot;leave safely 30 minutes later&quot; after the tank withdrew inside the Israeli position. &lsquo;Poor weather conditions&rsquo;In a statement, the Israeli military said &quot;two suspects were identified&quot; in the El Hamames area of southern Lebanon. &quot;The troops subsequently fired warning shots, and the suspects distanced themselves. No injuries were reported,&quot; it said. &quot;After a review, it was determined that the suspects were UN soldiers who were conducting a patrol in the area and were classified as suspects due to poor weather conditions. &lsquo;Violation&rsquo; of UNSC resolution&nbsp;&quot;No deliberate fire was directed toward UNIFIL soldiers.&quot; UNIFIL has been working with the Lebanese army to consolidate a truce between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah reached last November. It said the incident &quot;represents a serious violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701&quot;, which ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and also formed the basis of last November&#39;s truce. That ceasefire sought to end more than a year of hostilities between the parties, which broke out after the start of the Gaza war. Under the deal, Israel was to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon, but it has kept them in five areas it deems strategic. &lsquo;Aggressive behavior&rsquo;It has also carried out regular strikes on targets in Lebanon, arguing it is hitting Hezbollah sites and operatives. The Israeli military said the incident was under examination and was being handled through official military liaison channels. Sunday&#39;s incident was not the first in which UNIFIL accused Israel of endangering its troops. &quot;Yet again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers,&quot; the force said. &lsquo;Violating Lebanese sovereignty&rsquo;&nbsp;Lebanon&#39;s army, meanwhile, accused Israel of &quot;violating Lebanese sovereignty, causing instability and obstructing the full deployment of the army in the south&quot;. The army is meant to deploy to the area alongside UNIFIL as part of the ceasefire agreement. It said it was &quot;working, in coordination with friendly countries, to put an end to the continuous violations&quot;.

UNIFIL says the incident "represents a serious violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701", which ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and also formed the basis of last November's truce.

UN peacekeepers say Israeli forces fired on them in southern Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will vote Monday on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump&#39;s Gaza peace plan, diplomats said.&nbsp; Last week, the Americans officially launched negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a text that would follow up on a ceasefire in the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and endorse Trump&#39;s plan. A draft of the resolution seen Thursday by AFP &quot;welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace,&quot; a transitional governing body for Gaza -- that Trump would theoretically chair -- with a mandate running until the end of 2027. It would authorize member states to form a &quot;temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)&quot; that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip. Unlike previous drafts, the latest mentions a possible future Palestinian state. The United States and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, called Friday for the UN Security Council to quickly adopt the resolution. &quot;The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and T&uuml;rkiye express our joint support for the Security Council Resolution currently under consideration,&quot; the countries said in a joint statement, adding they were seeking the measure&#39;s &quot;swift adoption.&quot; Friday&#39;s joint statement comes as Russia circulated a competing draft resolution to Council members that does not authorize the creation of a board of peace or the immediate deployment of an international force in Gaza, according to the text seen Friday by AFP. The Russian version welcomes &quot;the initiative that led to the ceasefire&quot; but does not name Trump. It also only calls on the UN secretary-general to submit a report that addresses the possibilities of deploying an international stabilization force in war-ravaged Gaza. The United States has called the ceasefire &quot;fragile,&quot; and warned Friday of the risks of not adopting its draft. &quot;Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for the return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,&quot; the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, wrote in The Washington Post. &quot;Every departure from this path, be it by those who wish to play political games or to relitigate the past, will come with a real human cost.&quot; While it seemed until now that Council members supported principles of the peace plan, diplomatic sources noted there were questions about the US text, particularly regarding the absence of a monitoring mechanism by the Council, the role of the&nbsp; Palestinian Authority, and details of the ISF&#39;s mandate. The Russian UN mission said in a statement that its alternative proposal differed by recognizing the principle of a &quot;two-State solution for the Israeli-Palestinian settlement.&quot; &quot;Unfortunately, these provisions were not given due regard in the US draft,&quot; it said.

Draft of the resolution "welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace," AFP reports

UN Security Council to vote Monday on Trump Gaza plan

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday dismissed accusations by the United States that Tehran had attempted to kill the Israeli ambassador in Mexico, describing the claim as &quot;absurd.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We found this claim very ridiculous and absurd,&quot; said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing, adding that it was part of an attempt &quot;to destroy Iran&#39;s friendly relations with other countries.&quot;&nbsp;Following Washington&#39;s accusation on Friday of the assassination attempt, Israel&#39;s foreign ministry thanked Mexican authorities &quot;for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran.&quot;&nbsp;But Mexico&#39;s foreign ministry later said it had &quot;received no information&quot; on the alleged plot, and Iran&#39;s embassy in Mexico called it &quot;a great big lie.&quot;&nbsp;A US official said Iran&#39;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps&#39; elite Quds Force initiated the plot in late 2024 and that it was disrupted earlier this year.&nbsp;The alleged plot involved recruiting operatives through Iran&#39;s embassy in Venezuela, whose leftist president, Nicolas Maduro, maintains a tactical alliance with Tehran.&nbsp;&quot;The entire matter was fabricated,&quot; Baqaei said on Monday.&nbsp;In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war during which the US briefly joined with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.&nbsp;A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says allegation part of an attempt "to destroy Iran's friendly relations with other countries."

Iran says US claim on plot to kill Israeli ambassador in Mexico 'absurd'

BEIRUT: Hezbollah lashed out on Thursday against the prospect of any political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, and insisted that it has a right to defend itself. A source close to Hezbollah&rsquo;s political leadership told AFP the declaration followed recent US and Egyptian pressure on Lebanon&rsquo;s leaders to open direct negotiations. Lebanon and Israel are still technically in a state of war, but all the recent armed conflicts with Israel were fought by Hezbollah, not the Lebanese military. On Thursday, an Israeli strike killed one person, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hezbollah construction team. The only diplomatic contact between Israel and Lebanon is through a ceasefire monitoring mechanism, which includes the United States, France and the United Nations. This body meets regularly at the headquarters of the UN force in southern Lebanon but the Lebanese and Israeli parties do not directly communicate with each other. Disarmament driveHezbollah was the only movement in Lebanon that refused to disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, first claiming it had a duty to liberate territory occupied by Israel, and then to continue defending the country. In an open letter to the Lebanese people and their leaders, Hezbollah said it rejected &ldquo;any political negotiations&rdquo; between Lebanon and Israel and that such talks would &ldquo;not serve the national interest.&rdquo; Hezbollah is backed by Iran, which also fought its own war against Israel earlier this year. &ldquo;We reaffirm our legitimate right... to defend ourselves against an enemy that imposes war on our country and does not cease its attacks,&rdquo; Hezbollah added. The group nevertheless said it remained committed to a ceasefire reached with Israel last year, after months of hostilities that escalated into an all-out war. Israel warned last week that it could intensify operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of trying to rearm. Last week, US envoy Tom Barrack said that dialogue with Israel could be the key to easing tensions. The Lebanese government is due to meet later Thursday to examine the progress of its efforts to disarm the militant group. Despite the November 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up strikes. Since the ceasefire, the United States has increased pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group, a move opposed by Hezbollah and its allies. &lsquo;Hasty decision&rsquo;Israel has stepped up its strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions. President Joseph Aoun has criticized Israel for intensifying its strikes after he said he was open to negotiating with Israel. A Lebanese official told AFP on Thursday that Israel has not responded &ldquo;positively nor negatively&rdquo; to the offer. The Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm Hezbollah, but last week Israel&rsquo;s Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Aoun of &ldquo;dragging his feet.&rdquo; &ldquo;The Lebanese government&rsquo;s commitment to disarm Hezbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify &mdash; we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north,&rdquo; he said. Netanyahu meanwhile accused Hezbollah of attempting to rearm, after it suffered staggering losses in its last war with Israel. In September 2024, Israel killed the group&rsquo;s longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah and over the course of the war took out many other senior leaders. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the army is tasked with ensuring Hezbollah is disarmed in the south near the Israeli border by the end of the year, before proceeding to its disarmament in the rest of Lebanon. Hezbollah has criticized the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;hasty decision&rdquo; to disarm it, claiming that Israel has taken advantage of the push.

Hezbollah rejected any political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel amid rising US pressure and intensifying Israeli strikes, insisting on its right to defend itself and condemning the Lebanese government’s plan to disarm the group under the 2024 ceasefire terms.

Hezbollah rejects any negotiations between Lebanon and Israel

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, while stating US President Donald Trump &ldquo;entered promising to put an end to Netanyahu&#39;s bamboozling of Obama and Biden&rdquo;, stressed &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not too late to reverse course&rdquo;.&nbsp; In a post on X on Monday, the Iranian top diplomat said, &ldquo;Iran did not kill diplomacy. Those who blew up the negotiating table did.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Israel targeted diplomacy because its real fear is the failure of its &lsquo;Iran Demonization Project&rsquo;&rdquo;, he added.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1985065286085624188&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=4ce46ae6fd8f4ced8a0fb11acb2b65c6496c0477&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Araghchi said, &ldquo;POTUS entered office promising to put an end to Netanyahu&#39;s bamboozling of Obama and Biden. It&#39;s not too late to reverse course.&rdquo; &lsquo;Thoroughly debunked&rsquo;&nbsp;The Iranian foreign minister said, &ldquo;In the past 48 hours, the heinous lie that the unlawful Israeli and US bombing of Iran was motivated by an imminent nuclear threat has been thoroughly debunked by&nbsp; - The International Atomic Energy Agency Chief, who has explicitly stated that Iran &quot;is not and was not&quot; developing nuclear weapons.&nbsp; - My Omani counterpart, H.E. AlBusaidi, an intermediary trusted by both Iran and the U.S., who has made clear that there was never any Iranian &quot;nuclear threat&quot;.&rdquo;&nbsp; &#39;Stronger than before&#39;Earlier, Iran said on Sunday that it would rebuild nuclear sites damaged by Israeli and US strikes &quot;stronger than before&quot;, as mediator Oman urged Tehran and Washington to revive stalled diplomacy, according to AFP. US President Donald Trump has said the strikes obliterated Iran&#39;s nuclear program, but the full extent of the actual damage remains unknown. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a visit to the country&#39;s nuclear organization, said Tehran &quot;will build (the destroyed sites) stronger than before&quot;. &lsquo;Not be set back&rsquo;&quot;By destroying buildings... we will not be set back,&quot; he said in a video posted to his official website, adding that Iranian scientists still had the necessary nuclear know-how. Pezeshkian did not elaborate. In similar remarks in February before the strikes, he said Tehran would rebuild its sites if they came under attack.Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, kicking off a 12-day war that saw it target nuclear and military facilities -- as well as residential areas -- and kill many top scientists. Iran retaliated with ballistic missile barrages aimed at Israel. &lsquo;Serious and severe&rsquo;Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in July, after the United States announced a halt in fighting, that the damage in Iran was &quot;serious and severe&quot;. Pezeshkian&#39;s comments came as Oman, Iran&#39;s traditional intermediary, urged the two countries on Saturday to resume talks. &quot;We want to return to the negotiations between Iran (and) the United States,&quot; Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain. Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Sunday that Tehran &quot;has received messages&quot; on resuming diplomacy, without providing further details. &lsquo;Snapback&rsquo; mechanismOman hosted five rounds of US-Iran talks this year. Just three days before the sixth round, Israel launched its strikes against Iran&#39;s nuclear facilities. Iran has since faced the return of UN sanctions after Britain, Germany, and France triggered the &quot;snapback&quot; mechanism over Tehran&#39;s alleged non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, AFP reported.

Says, “Iran did not kill diplomacy…Israel targeted diplomacy because its real fear is the failure of its “Iran Demonization Project”; Iran said on Sunday that it would rebuild nuclear sites damaged. 

‘Not too late to reverse course’, Iran FM tells US President Trump   

JERUSALEM: Israel warned Sunday that its military would step up its attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a day after the Lebanese Health Ministry reported four people killed in an Israeli airstrike. Despite a November 2024 cease-fire with the Lebanese militant group, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has continued regular strikes. &ldquo;Hezbollah is playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet,&rdquo; Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. &ldquo;The Lebanese government&rsquo;s commitment to disarm Hezbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify &mdash; we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north.&rdquo; Thousands of Israelis living near the northern border with Lebanon were forced to evacuate their homes for months after Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023. That set off a more than yearlong conflict that culminated in two months of open war before last year&rsquo;s cease-fire was agreed upon. The Iran-backed militant group, which opposes Israel, has been badly weakened by the war but remains armed and financially resilient. In September 2024, Israel killed the group&rsquo;s longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah, along with many other senior leaders over the course of the war. Since the cease-fire, the United States has increased pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm the group, a plan opposed by Hezbollah and its allies. Latest strikeIsrael never stopped carrying out airstrikes on Lebanon despite the truce &mdash; usually saying it was targeting Hezbollah positions &mdash; and has stepped up attacks in recent days. On Thursday, Israeli ground troops carried out a deadly raid into southern Lebanon, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront such incursions. Aoun had called for talks with Israel in mid-October after U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker a cease-fire in Gaza. But Aoun later accused Israel of responding to his offer by intensifying its airstrikes, the latest of which killed four people in the Nabatiyeh district on Saturday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the Israeli army hit a car &ldquo;with a guided missile.&rdquo; The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it killed a member of Hezbollah&rsquo;s Radwan Force in southern Lebanon. &ldquo;The terrorist was involved in transferring weapons and in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah&rsquo;s terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon,&rdquo; the military said, adding that three other members of the group were also killed. &ldquo;The terrorists&rsquo; activities constituted a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians and a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.&rdquo;

A Lebanese soldier sits on top of a military vehicle outside the municipality building of the southern Lebanese border village of Blida in the aftermath of an Israeli army raid on the village, on October 30, 2025.

Israel warned Sunday that its military would step up its attacks against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a day after the Lebanese Health Ministry reported four people killed in an Israeli airstrike.

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