Israel targets Hezbollah in south Lebanon as US envoy visits

A strike Sunday that Israel said targeted Hezbollah killed two people in south Lebanon, according to authorities, as a US envoy was visiting for talks on the militant group and economic reforms.

The strike came more than four months into a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah, and a day after US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus discussed disarming the Iran-backed group in meetings with senior figures, according to a Lebanese official.

U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. Johnson arrive to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Beirut, Lebanon, April 5, 2025.Reuters

On Sunday in the south, near the Israeli border, the Lebanese health ministry said two people were killed in an "Israeli enemy" strike on the town of Zibqin.

The Israeli military said it targeted two Hezbollah operatives in the area who were "attempting to rebuild Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites".

Firefighters try to put off fire at a building following an Israeli strike, in which the Israeli military said, it killed Hamas commander Hassan Farhat, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 4, 2025. Reuters

Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon despite a November 27 ceasefire that largely halted more than a year of hostilities, with raids this week in south Lebanon and even on Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold.

Unstable truce

The truce was based on a United Nations resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.

The Lebanese official, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to brief the media, said that on Saturday Ortagus discussed "intensifying and speeding up" the Lebanese army's work in "dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure, leading to restricting weapons to state hands, without setting a timetable".

U.S. deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, in this handout image released on April 5, 2025.Reuters

Under the truce, Hezbollah was to redeploy its fighters north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Israel, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Israel was to withdraw its forces across the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, but has missed two deadlines to do so and continues to hold five positions in south Lebanon that it deems "strategic".

Ortagus has not made any official statements, but Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam -- whose appointments earlier this year ended a more than two-year leadership vacuum -- said their discussions with her on Saturday were positive.

They said the talks addressed the situation in the south as well as economic reforms.

'Expansion of state authority'

The Lebanese official said Ortagus had "implied" that the reconstruction of war-ravaged areas "requires first achieving reforms and the expansion of state authority".

International creditors have long demanded reforms in order to unlock bailout funds that could help ease Lebanon's five-year economic collapse, which has been widely blamed on mismanagement and corruption.

Lebanon's finance ministry said Ortagus met Sunday with Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Economy Minister Amer Bisat and new central bank governor Karim Souaid.

Lebanon's newly appointed central bank governor Karim Souaid takes office in a handover ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025.Reuters

Discussions included "reforms initiated by the government... and the economic reform program", a ministry statement said.

It added that the bank chief and the two ministers would attend meetings with the International Monetary Fund in Washington later this month.

The Lebanese official said Ortagus on Saturday "praised the government's reform plan, particularly the measures taken at the airport".

Stricter measures

Authorities have been enforcing stricter measures and readying new technology at Beirut airport, seeking to prevent all smuggling, including funds, to Hezbollah, a Lebanese security source told AFP, also requesting anonymity.

People hold flags of Lebanon as they take part in a demonstration in support of Palestinians and to protest the killing of a Bulgarian U.N. worker in Gaza, Sofia, Bulgaria, March 30, 2025.Reuters

Flights between Lebanon and Iran have been suspended since February after the United States warned that Israel might target Beirut airport to thwart alleged weapons shipments to Hezbollah, a Lebanese security source had told AFP at the time.

Hezbollah was the only Lebanese armed group that refused to surrender its weapons following a 1975-1990 civil war.

The group was left heavily weakened during its latest conflict with Israel.