Israel will intensify Lebanon strikes amid US-Iran deal talks

Sherif Tarek, Alisa Odenheimer and Yash Roy, Bloomberg News on May 25, 2026

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Israel will intensify its strikes against Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, amid stepped-up negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to bring an end to conflict in the region.

Iran has demanded the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon as part of any peace agreement with the U.S. that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Axios reported that a draft of a potential deal between the U.S. and Iran includes language ending the war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday night about the potential agreement with Iran and said Trump had “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defeat itself against the threats on every front, including Lebanon.” Netanyahu also said he and Trump agreed that a final deal with Iran “must eliminate the nuclear danger.”

Earlier Monday, Israeli Defense Forces announced strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon, which followed explosive drones launched by Hezbollah that fell in Israeli territory and a rocket launched toward Israel that its air force intercepted. Since then, the IDF has struck more than 70 Hezbollah infrastructure sites across Lebanon, per a statement from the Israeli military on Telegram.

The IDF struck 10 command centers, weapons storage facilities and additional infrastructure sites used by Hezbollah to attack against Israeli soldiers and civilians, according to its statement on Telegram. The strikes also eliminated Hezbollah militants operating on motorcycles in the area where IDF soldiers are currently operating in southern Lebanon.

Israel has issued evacuation orders for 10 villages, accusing Hezbollah of violating a ceasefire that went into effect mid-April, according to the AFP.

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in early March after the Lebanese militia fired rockets and drones into the Jewish state, saying the attack was to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28. Both sides have been exchanging fire at a smaller scale since an April truce.

Within hours of Netanyahu announcing more strikes in Lebanon, loud explosions were heard around the Strait of Hormuz, near the Iranian coastal cities of Sirik and Jask, semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Three explosions were also heard in Iran’s Bandar Abbas, semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.

(Veena Ali-Khan contributed to this report.)