On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon faced yet another blow as an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle in the town of Jiyeh, Mount Lebanon, wounding one person. This latest incident, reported by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency and echoed by Shafaq News, came just a day after a barrage of Israeli airstrikes pounded eastern Lebanon, killing at least five people and injuring five more. The escalation has reignited fears that the ceasefire, brokered less than a year ago, is unraveling under the weight of ongoing hostilities and deep-seated mistrust.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and corroborated by Al Jazeera, the air raids on Monday, September 8, struck the Bekaa and Hermel districts in the country’s northeast. State media reported at least eight separate attacks, with seven bombs falling on the outskirts of Hermel and another hitting the nearby town of Labweh. The Israeli military claimed the strikes targeted weapons depots and military facilities used by Hezbollah, though these assertions could not be independently verified. Hezbollah, for its part, has not commented publicly on the latest attacks.
The violence has not been limited to the country’s east. On the same day as the Hermel and Labweh strikes, a drone attack was reported on a car traveling between the coastal towns of Barja and Jiyeh, south of Beirut. While the Israeli military has yet to issue a statement on these incidents, the pattern of strikes marks a clear escalation in a conflict that, according to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has seen more than 4,800 Israeli violations since the ceasefire took effect on November 27, 2024. These violations have resulted in over 235 deaths and 480 injuries, including women and children, as documented by UNIFIL and reported by Shafaq News.
The renewed violence has reverberated through Lebanon’s political corridors. On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun convened a meeting with a delegation from the Arab Parliament, which included representatives from Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. According to a statement released by the Lebanese Presidency and reported by The Media Line, Aoun urged Arab nations to present a united front against what he described as Israel’s “escalating attacks in violation of a ceasefire.” He accused Israel of repeatedly breaching the November truce and targeting “Lebanese villages, towns, and their peaceful inhabitants.”
Mohammed Ahmed Al-Yamahi, speaker of the Arab Parliament and head of the visiting delegation, expressed unambiguous support for Lebanon’s security, unity, and sovereignty. He emphasized the Arab Parliament’s rejection of foreign interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs and declared that Lebanon’s stability was integral to Arab collective security. Other delegates echoed these sentiments, voicing support for President Aoun’s reform program, which they described as essential for strengthening the Lebanese state and promoting national unity.
The political stakes have only grown higher amid Lebanon’s own domestic upheaval. On Friday, September 5, the Lebanese cabinet approved a controversial plan to disarm Hezbollah and place all weapons under the authority of the national army. This move, as reported by The Media Line and Al Jazeera, prompted a dramatic protest: five ministers from Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, walked out of the meeting. Supporters of Hezbollah have since called for mass demonstrations, arguing that disarmament is unthinkable so long as Israeli strikes and occupation persist.
The disarmament plan itself is part of a broader push, championed by the United States and Israel, to curtail Hezbollah’s military capabilities. Earlier this month, Lebanon’s army presented a detailed proposal to the cabinet outlining steps to begin dismantling the group’s arsenal. Information Minister Paul Morcos announced that the government welcomed the move, but stopped short of confirming full cabinet approval. The plan’s fate remains uncertain, with Hezbollah warning that even raising the issue of disarmament while Israeli attacks continue would be a “serious misstep,” according to Al Jazeera.
This standoff over Hezbollah’s weapons is not new, but it has been thrown into sharp relief by the ongoing violence. Since the conflict erupted on October 8, 2023, following an Israeli military offensive in Lebanon, both sides have suffered heavy losses. By the time the ceasefire was reached in November 2024, more than 4,000 people had been killed and nearly 17,000 wounded, according to figures cited by Al Jazeera. Despite the ceasefire, Israel has maintained forces at five border positions, defying a February 18, 2025 deadline for complete withdrawal—another point of contention fueling Lebanese anger and Hezbollah’s resistance to disarmament.
The situation on the ground remains volatile. Last week, Israeli strikes killed four people in Lebanon, further straining an already fragile truce. In a separate incident, Israel was criticized for dropping grenades near UN peacekeepers from UNIFIL—a move that drew sharp rebukes from both Lebanese officials and the international community, as reported by Al Jazeera.
For many Lebanese, the constant threat of violence hangs over daily life. The recent airstrikes in Bekaa and Hermel, as well as the drone attacks near Jiyeh and Barja, have left residents shaken. The death toll continues to rise, and the prospect of a return to full-scale conflict looms large. Meanwhile, the political impasse over Hezbollah’s future and the presence of Israeli forces along the border ensure that the underlying issues remain unresolved.
International actors have so far struggled to enforce the ceasefire or broker a lasting peace. The United States and France, which mediated the original truce, have called for restraint on both sides, but the reality on the ground tells a different story. With Israel citing ongoing security threats as justification for its strikes and Lebanon’s government torn between external pressure and internal divisions, a durable solution seems as distant as ever.
As the violence continues and diplomatic efforts falter, the people of Lebanon are left to pick up the pieces—again. The latest strikes serve as a grim reminder that, despite the language of ceasefires and peace plans, the shadow of war still hangs heavy over the region. Until the core issues are addressed, and both sides find a way to step back from the brink, Lebanon’s hard-won peace will remain perilously fragile.
