Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: December 29, 2025–January 4, 2026

By David Daoud | January 6, 2026 | @DavidADaoud

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted numerous operations throughout Lebanon against Hezbollah between December 29, 2025, and January 4, 2026. Israeli activities this week were concentrated exclusively in south Lebanon and included targeted killings of Hezbollah personnel and strikes on the group’s assets both north and south of the Litani River.

In the latter part of the week, the IDF targeted and killed Hezbollah personnel involved in the group’s regeneration efforts south of the Litani River, despite the Lebanese government setting December 31 as the deadline for Hezbollah’s full disarmament south of the waterway. On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the “efforts […] made in this regard by the Lebanese government and Lebanese Armed Forces” as “far from sufficient […] in light of Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm and rebuild.”

Israeli media reported that US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Lebanon’s shortcomings and Hezbollah’s rearmament during their recent meeting at Mar-a-Lago, suggesting Washington greenlighted an Israeli military escalation in Lebanon if Beirut continued to demonstrate its unwillingness to disarm the group.

However, Lebanese media reports offered a more complicated picture. A report in Ad Diyar, for example, indicated that several unspecified Arab and European countries had come to an agreement with the United States to give Lebanon a final opportunity to fulfill its obligations to disarm Hezbollah pursuant to the November 27, 2024, ceasefire deal. Per this agreement, Lebanon and Hezbollah would both issue separate declarations certifying that the area south of the Litani River had been cleared of the group’s weapons or armed presence, which would be confirmed by a special investigation committee, with Beirut bearing the consequences of any subsequent violations. In return, Israel would cease operations throughout Lebanon, after which, Lebanon would transition to the second phase of disarming Hezbollah in the area between the Litani and Awali Rivers, which would “require a relatively long period to implement.” Similarly, the LBCI television station claimed that Trump had asked Netanyahu to await further dialogue with the Lebanese government.

Meanwhile, a report in Nidaa Al Watan similarly indicated that the Lebanese Government was awaiting “Israel withdrawing from the occupied [posts in south Lebanon], returning Lebanese captives, and taking positive steps” before deciding on disarming Hezbollah north of the Litani River. The report suggested that Beirut did not fear Israeli military operations in response to its inaction against Hezbollah, having received guarantees from the United States that any Israeli escalation would remain limited. This report seemed to overlap with a report in Maariv that the IDF had presented Netanyahu with a plan for a limited offensive, or several intense operations short of war, inside Lebanon.

The IDF conducted operations in 22 Lebanese locales last week, some of them more than once. These activities included:

Airstrikes: Seven+
Artillery missions: Two
Detonations: Two
Drone strikes: Two
Flares: One
Quadcopter activities: Five

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Nabatieh Governorate

Bint Jbeil District: Ayta ash Shaab, Ayta ash Shaab-Rmeish, Bint Jbeil, Jmeijmeh-Khirbet Selm, and Rmeish
Marjayoun District: Houla, Khiam,Marjayoun, and Meiss al Jabal
Nabatieh District: Azza-Kafrawa

South Lebanon Governorate

Jezzine District: Aqmata-Rihan andMount Rihan
Sidon District: Ansar-Zrariyeh, Tebna-Zahrani, and Zrariyeh
Tyre District: Marwahin

Casualties

Between December 29 and January 4, Israeli operations in Lebanon killed two people, both Hezbollah operatives, and wounded four unidentified individuals.

December 29, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 30, 2025: No casualties were reported.
December 31, 2025: No casualties were reported.
January 1, 2026: No casualties were reported.
January 2, 2026: One unidentified individual was wounded.
January 3, 2026: Three unidentified individuals were wounded.
January 4, 2026: Two Hezbollah operatives were killed.

Chronology of Israeli operations against Hezbollah, December 29, 2025–January 4, 2026

December 29

At 8:32 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the banks of the Litani River near Marjayoun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.

December 30

At 3:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery targeted the area between Rmeish and Ayta ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District, while Israeli reconnaissance drones flew overhead.
At 7:13 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery intermittently targeted the outskirts of Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.

December 31

NNA Lebanon reported that, past midnight, an Israeli ground force entered Houla in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District, approximately 1,600 meters from the Blue Line and 1,400 meters from the IDF’s Tel Aziyeh post in south Lebanon, and detonated a home in the village.
At 8:23 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped an explosive on an excavator in Ayta ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
At 2:34 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces detonated the home of local Marwahin resident Omar Dheeb al Qassem, allegedly the last undamaged home in the village.
At 4:41 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery fired several flares over the outskirts of Rmeish in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
At 4:41 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive toward the Marj-Al Bayader area in Meiss al Jabal in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.

January 1

No operations were reported.

January 2

At 8:02 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped an explosive on an excavator in Ayta ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
NNA Lebanon reported that at 12:15 pm, several Israeli airstrikes targeted Aqmata Valley and the outskirts of Rihan near Mount Rihan in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District.
At 12:29 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the heights of Mount Rihan.
At 12:32 pm, the IDF released a statement on the strikes, saying that it had targeted several “terror installations belonging to Hezbollah in several areas in south Lebanon.” The facilities included a Radwan Force commando unit training camp and military installations used for storing weapons and Hezbollah activities “in the recent period,” meaning in the year since the November 27, 2024, ceasefire went into effect. The IDF said that “the presence of these installations and Hezbollah’s activities constitute a violation of the understandings between the State of Israel and Lebanon and a threat to the State of Israel.”
At 12:34 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that two Israeli airstrikes targeted the wadi of Zrariyeh, while several additional airstrikes targeted the area between Ansar and Zrariyeh in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District. The strikes wounded one unidentified person in Ansar.
At 12:44 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that three Israeli airstrikes targeted the wadi between Azza and Kafrawa in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District.
At 2:02 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the Tebna area in Zahrani in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District. Debris from the strikes led to the closure of the road to Tuffahta.
At 7:17 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter crashed near a home it was monitoring in the Ain al Kabira neighborhood of Bint Jbeil in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
At 7:39 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped stun explosives in the Chalet area of Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.

January 3

At 1:00 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District. The strike wounded three unidentified individuals. The IDF released a statement claiming it had “targeted a Hezbollah operative operating near Khiam in south Lebanon.”

January 4

At 12:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive in the center of Adaisseh in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.
At 5:22 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on the Ain al Mizrab road between Khirbet Selm and Jmeijmeh in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District. The strike killed two people. At 5:00 pm, after the strike occurred, the IDF released a statement saying that it had “targeted a Hezbollah operative near Jmeijmeh in south Lebanon.” Hezbollah-affiliated social media later announced the deaths of Hezbollah operative Rabih Mohammad Ali Jaber, whose nom de guerre was Al Sheikh Dhul Fiqar, from Yater, and Hezbollah operative and volunteer medic in its Islamic Health Committee Ali Hussain Rizk, whose nom de guerre was Ali Fahd, from Houla. The IDF released a subsequent statement saying that it had targeted and killed two Hezbollah operatives near Jmeijmeh “involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah’s military infrastructure” in “flagrant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
At 8:29 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped fragmentation explosives on an alleged chicken coop near a home in Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District, destroying the structure.