Israel Strikes Hezbollah Operative in Lebanon as Beirut Plans Disarmament

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it had eliminated a Hezbollah member in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region, accusing him of overseeing militant operations in Syria.

According to the army’s statement, Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday night targeted Hossam Qasem Ghorab, described as a Hezbollah operative who coordinated activities from Lebanon to guide armed cells in Syria. These Syria-based groups were allegedly preparing to fire rockets toward the Golan Heights, a territory captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 war.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Lebanon’s cabinet instructed its army to prepare a strategy to dismantle Hezbollah’s armed wing by year’s end—an unprecedented directive since militias disarmed after the country’s civil war.

This move, reportedly under significant U.S. pressure, is tied to the implementation of a November ceasefire aimed at ending more than a year of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of intense fighting. While the conflict severely weakened Hezbollah, the group is believed to still hold parts of its weapons stockpile.