Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
An official of Hezbollah was killed on April 18 when an Israeli drone strike hit his vehicle on a road between the city of Sidon and the town of Ghaziyeh in southern Lebanon.
In a statement claiming responsibility for the strike, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that the slain official, Muhammad Abdullah, was responsible for the deployment of Hezbollah’s communication systems across Lebanon, especially in areas south of the Litani River.
“The activities of the terrorists in the recent period constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and posed a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” the military added.
The deadly strike was the most recent in a series of operations that the IDF began conducting against Hezbollah past February 18, when all clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border were supposed to end according to a ceasefire brokered by the United States last November.
Israel has so far justified these operations as a necessity to counter direct threats to its security. It has also refused to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon as called for by the ceasefire agreement, keeping troops at five strategic posts there.
From its side, Hezbollah, which took heavy losses during the last confrontation with the IDF, has not yet responded in any way.
Faced with unprecedented internal pressure, the group has been prioritizing diplomacy, while holding onto its main principles.
A Hezbollah official said on April 18 that the group categorically refused to discuss handing over its weapons to the Lebanese military, one of the main demands of Israel and the U.S., unless Israel withdraws completely from southern Lebanon and stops its “aggression.”
“It is not a question of disarming,” Wafiq Safa said in an interview with Hezbollah’s Al-Nur radio station. “What the president [Joseph Aoun] said in his inauguration speech is a defensive strategy.”
Safa added that Hezbollah had conveyed its position to Aoun, who earlier in the week said he sought “to make 2025 the year of restricting arms to the state” alone.
In his interview, Safa asked: “Wouldn’t it be logical for Israel to first withdraw, then release the prisoners, then cease its aggression… and then we discuss a defensive strategy?”
“The defensive strategy is about thinking about how to protect Lebanon, not preparing for the party to hand over its weapons,” he noted.
While Hezbollah appears to be betting on diplomacy, Israel can’t be trusted to be fair. It is highly possible that Israel could soon renew full-on military operations in Lebanon, including on the ground, under some pretext to further pressure the group.
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