Tensions Rise: Israel Strikes Hezbollah Ahead of Ceasefire Meeting

Israel launched airstrikes on Hezbollah sites in southern and northeastern Lebanon as crucial ceasefire talks loom. The strikes anticipate a committee meeting aiming to disarm Hezbollah, with international involvement from the US, France, and UN peacekeepers. Lebanon's army is urged to control border areas by year-end.

Israel has conducted a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in southern and northeastern Lebanon, escalating tensions as a crucial meeting to enforce a disarmament agreement approaches.

The airstrikes occurred one day before an international committee meeting in Paris, aiming to reinforce a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US, which ended last year's conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon's government, pressured by the US, has set a year-end deadline to remove Hezbollah's armed presence from border areas, while the Israeli military reports substantial damage to Hezbollah infrastructure.

(With inputs from agencies.)