The Israeli army announced raising its readiness level in anticipation of a possible attack on Hezbollah, according to Israeli media. This announcement comes amid a political and security escalation coinciding with supportive American stances toward this direction.
Media sources stated that US President Donald Trump gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “green light” to take military action against the party “if necessary,” in the event that the existing path to disarming it fails.
Maariv newspaper reported on Wednesday evening that assessments within the Israeli security establishment indicate that the ongoing steps in Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah do not meet the conditions of the ceasefire agreement.
In contrast, under American and Israeli pressure, the Lebanese government had made a decision last August to begin a path of disarming Hezbollah, where the Lebanese army developed a 5-stage plan to withdraw weapons. However, the party rushed to reject the plan, describing the decision as a “sin,” and stressing the priority of Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories.
In this regard, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, stated that “disarmament is an Israeli-American project, even if it is called exclusive armament at this stage,” considering that the Lebanese government made free concessions without Israel offering any in return.
Maariv reported that the Israeli army has intensified its preparations after monitoring what it described as Hezbollah’s attempts to re-establish its presence, in anticipation of carrying out military action if the political leadership deems it necessary. It also pointed out that the security establishment intends to present the available options for weakening Hezbollah to Netanyahu and the political level, while stressing the need to carry out a military operation.
The newspaper quoted sources in the Israeli army as saying that “the absence of intention on the part of the Lebanese army and government to continue disarming Hezbollah will push the Israeli army to do so,” claiming that Israel is monitoring the party’s attempts to rebuild its capabilities, especially in the areas north of the Litani River, including precision missile systems and other offensive systems.
In a related context, Channel 15 in Israel reported that the Lebanon and Hezbollah file constituted only a limited part of the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, but the American and Israeli positions appeared identical on this issue. The channel added, quoting an informed source, that Trump gave Netanyahu permission to act against Hezbollah if the Lebanese path fails to disarm it, while the Jerusalem Post quoted another source confirming that the United States “supports Israel” if it decides to take this action.
During the same meeting, Trump reiterated his position calling for the complete disarmament of Hezbollah, considering that the party “is behaving badly,” and indicating that he will follow what the Lebanese efforts will lead to in this regard.
On the field level, since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, the Israeli forces have continued to commit repeated violations, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of hundreds of Lebanese people, as well as widespread destruction of property and infrastructure. This comes at a time when Israel is still occupying 5 Lebanese hills in the south that it seized during the last war, in addition to other Lebanese areas occupied for decades.
In a military reading, military expert Brigadier General Elias Hanna explained that the continuous Israeli raids on eastern and southern Lebanon fall within the strategy of “punitive deterrence,” aimed at raising the cost of confrontation for Hezbollah and preventing it from rebuilding its capabilities. He pointed out that these operations are not preventive strikes in the traditional sense, but rather “prevention and precaution operations” based on an Israeli doctrine based on the principle that “attack is the best means of defense.”
Hanna ruled out a direct response from Hezbollah at the present time, considering that the concept of deterrence for the party has changed compared to the “war of support” stage, and moved to what he calls “deterrence through disruption,” that is, contenting itself with continuing and not losing in order to maintain its position within any future equation.
