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Lebanon said 3 radical were killed Monday (December 22, 2025) successful a onslaught adjacent Sidon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah operatives, days up of a deadline for Lebanon’s Army to disarm the radical adjacent the border.
Israel has kept up regular strikes connected Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, contempt a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to extremity much than a twelvemonth of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group, which it accuses of rearming.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Monday's onslaught connected a conveyance was carried retired by an Israeli drone astir 10 kilometres (six miles) from the confederate coastal metropolis of Sidon and "killed 3 radical who were inside".
The Health Ministry reported the aforesaid toll.
An Israeli Military connection said the Army “struck respective Hezbollah terrorists successful the country of Sidon”.
Under dense US unit and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south.
The Lebanese service plans to transportation retired the task southbound of the Litani River — astir 30 kilometres from the borderline with Israel — by year’s end.
The latest onslaught came aft Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives connected Friday (December 19, 2025) took portion successful a gathering of the ceasefire monitoring committee for a 2nd time, aft holding their archetypal nonstop talks successful decades earlier this month, besides nether the committee’s auspices.
The committee comprises representatives from Lebanon, Israel, the United States, France and the United Nations Interim Force successful Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday (December 22, 2025) that the extremity of the negotiations was to “stop the hostilities, execute Israel's withdrawal, instrumentality prisoners held successful Israel and instrumentality confederate residents to their villages”.
‘Days away’
Israel has besides kept troops successful 5 southbound Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.
“Lebanon awaits affirmative steps from the Israeli side,” Mr. Aoun told visiting Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto connected Monday (December 22, 2025), a presidency connection said.
In a abstracted statement, Mr. Crosetto said that “even aft UNIFIL, Italy volition proceed to bash its part, supporting with condemnation the planetary beingness and supporting the capableness improvement of the Lebanese equipped forces”.
Asked by AFP if this meant Italy wanted to support a subject beingness successful the country, a ministry spokesperson confirmed that was the case.
UNIFIL has acted arsenic a buffer betwixt Israel and Lebanon since 1978, but the UN Security Council voted successful August to retreat the peacekeepers successful 2027.
Mr. Aoun said Lebanon “welcomes the information of Italy and different European countries successful immoderate unit that takes the place” of UNIFIL.
On Saturday (December 20, 2025), Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the archetypal signifier of the program to restrict weapons to the authorities southbound of the Litani River was “days distant from completion”, according to a connection from his office.
“The authorities is acceptable to determination to the 2nd phase, northbound of the Litani River, based connected the program prepared by the Lebanese army,” helium added.
More than 340 radical person been killed by Israeli occurrence successful Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese wellness ministry reports.
On Sunday (December 21, 2025), Israeli strikes successful southbound Lebanon adjacent the borderline killed 1 idiosyncratic and wounded another, arsenic Israel besides said it targeted Hezbollah members.
