Beirut, Lebanon, 5 December (H.S.): Israeli warplanes unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on Thursday targeting Hezbollah weapons depots in southern Lebanese villages including Jbaa, Mahrouna, Majadal, and Baraasheet, mere hours after the first direct civilian talks between Lebanon and Israel in decades.

The Israeli Defense Forces issued prior evacuation warnings, accusing the Iran-backed group of cynically embedding military infrastructure amid civilian zones in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire, which mandated Hezbollah's withdrawal south of the Litani River while Israel retained five strategic border posts.

Local officials in Jbaa reported shattered windows across a 300-meter radius and residents living in shock, with smoke plumes visible from strike sites, though no immediate casualties were confirmed.

The raids followed Wednesday's unprecedented discussions at the UN peacekeeping headquarters in Naqura, where Lebanese and Israeli civilian envoys—under U.S., French, and UN auspices—explored economic cooperation in agriculture, technology, and infrastructure, with Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun hailing the positive atmosphere and scheduling a follow-up on December 19.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office described the meeting as productive yet insisted Hezbollah's disarmament remains non-negotiable, amid U.S. pressure on Beirut and ongoing Israeli ground raids dismantling over 1,200 terror sites since the truce.

Lebanon's government pledged to disarm the militants, but Hezbollah's defiance raises fears of escalated operations.

This escalation punctuates a brief respite during Pope Leo XIV's Sunday-to-Tuesday visit, when the pontiff prayed at Beirut's port blast site, urged an end to hostilities in the war-torn south, and called for dialogue over arms in masses attended by 150,000 faithful.

Lebanese Premier Nawaf Salam stressed the talks focus solely on truce implementation—hostage releases, Israeli withdrawal, and hostilities' cessation—rejecting broader peace overtures amid technical war since 1948.

France welcomed the diplomatic thaw as a de-escalation framework, while the U.S. envoy engaged both sides.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar