Israel Says Military Operations in Lebanon Will Continue Despite Ceasefire; Beirut Strikes Threatened
Israel’s defence minister said Thursday that the conditional Lebanon ceasefire grants the military the freedom to strike Beirut if conditions warrant, contradicting the Wednesday-signed agreement’s “complete cessation” requirement. The statement is the structural challenge to the durability of the US-brokered ceasefire just 24 hours after it was agreed. The Israeli framing — that operational latitude is preserved under the deal — directly contradicts the Lebanese-government understanding that both sides must observe a complete cessation.
The Israeli defence minister’s “freedom to strike Beirut” framing is the first explicit Israeli walk-back from the cessation terms President Donald Trump announced Tuesday and the conditional ceasefire signed Wednesday. The Beirut Dahieh strikes earlier in the week killed Hezbollah operatives in the political-administrative heartland; the Khaldeh highway strike on the busy Beirut-area road Wednesday was the closest Israeli targeting to Beirut proper since the cessation was announced. Israeli forces remain at the Beaufort Castle / Beaufort Ridge / Wadi al-Saluki line beyond the Litani River, the deepest Israeli position inside Lebanon in 26 years. The IDF has maintained throughout that it would preserve operational latitude in Lebanon despite the cessation; the defence minister’s Thursday statement formalises that position.