From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 11, 2025
Report: US warned Lebanon that IDF will strike if Hezbollah doesn’t hand over drones, missiles by year’s end
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
US envoy Morgan Ortagus told top Lebanese officials that Israel will carry out “major and decisive strikes” against Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs and in the Beqaa Valley if the terror group fails to hand over its drones and precision missiles by January 1, the Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily reports, citing European diplomatic sources.
The Donald Trump administration has been pushing the Lebanese government to disarm by the end of the year, while the Lebanese army presented a plan to Lebanon’s government that would see southern Lebanon free of Hezbollah weapons by January 1, and the rest of the country in subsequent phases.
Hezbollah has consistently said that it will not disarm.
US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said yesterday that Israel’s decision to engage in direct talks with Lebanese officials last week does not preclude an operation against Hezbollah: “Just because the negotiations have begun does not mean that Israel will stop its operations. The Israelis see these two matters as completely separate. The talks are being held with the Lebanese government, while their war is directed against Hezbollah.”
He stressed that they are “two distinct issues.”
Sources tell the outlet the US envoy Tom Barrack has been pushing a proposal for a joint economic zone along the border, which would help separate the Shiite population of southern Lebanon from Hezbollah.
The Times of Israel Community.