Israel hits Lebanon as deadline to disarm Hezbollah looms

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm the militant group Hezbollah along the countries’ tense frontier.

- BY BASSEM MROUE

LEBANESE soldiers watch a truck that was targeted by an Israeli drone Tuesday.

(ALI HASHISHO Xinhua)

The strikes came a day before a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago. The gathering Friday will be the second meeting of the mechanism after Israel and Lebanon appointed civilian members to a previously military-only committee. The group also includes the United States, France and the United Nations peacekeeping force deployed along the border.

In Paris, Lebanon's army commander, Gen. Rodolph Haikal, met with U.S., French and Saudi officials to discuss ways of assisting the army in its mission to boost its presence in the border area. His first meeting was with French military officials.

Gen. Fabien Mandon, the French armed forces’ chief of staff, posted Thursday on X that he discussed with Haikal the strategic environment and security challenges in Lebanon and the region.