As ceasefire violations continue, Israel seeks to resume war against Hezbollah within 2-3 weeks if talks fail – report

The Israeli government is urging Washington to wrap up the negotiations with Lebanon within two to three weeks and allow it to resume fighting against Hezbollah if the talks fail to achieve significant results, Israel's Channel 12 News reported Wednesday.

The report came against the background of daily ceasefire violations by Hezbollah, which has vowed to disregard the truce as long as Israeli troops are on Lebanese territory. On Thursday morning, it continued its attacks with a drone strike that hit a military vehicle near the northern town of Shomera, reportedly without causing injuries.

While visiting troops in southern Lebanon, IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir affirmed that the military has not ceased fire on the frontline of the buffer zone, and continues to “remove direct and indirect threats from the northern communities, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, locate and eliminate terrorists,” amid growing criticism of the Israeli lack of response to Hezbollah.

A Hezbollah explosive-laden drone launched from Lebanon struck near the northern border community of Shomera a short while ago, after sirens sounded across the Western Galilee.

The IDF says it is investigating the incident. There are no immediate reports of injuries.

The drone… https://t.co/knsNuHTfUr pic.twitter.com/OLNkBuJCcK

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 30, 2026

According to Channel 12, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to set a deadline of two to three weeks for the current negotiations with the Lebanese government, and to allow Israel to resume its original plans for the campaign against Hezbollah if they fail to produce significant results.

The Israeli leadership has reportedly instructed the military to exercise “restraint” in its response, following a U.S. request not to endanger the talks with Beirut as well as the ceasefire in Iran.

“I told Netanyahu he has got to do it more surgically. Not knock down buildings. He can't do it. It is too terrible and makes Israel look bad,” Trump told the news outlet Axios on Wednesday.

He emphasized that Hezbollah would be “automatically” taken care of once its Iranian patrons get “taken out.”

Despite the daily attacks and Israeli warnings, a U.S. official told Axios that the ceasefire isn’t collapsing but acknowledged that Hezbollah “is trying to derail it.”

“Hezbollah's strategy is clear: provoke, attack, and then blame Israel in order to kill the negotiations and make the Lebanese government look bad. We cannot feasibly expect Israel to just take the hits. This is not the Biden administration,” he said.

🎯DISMANTLED: 1,000+ terrorist infrastructure sites used by Hezbollah terrorists to carry out attacks against IDF troops.

The troops located hundreds of weapons, including machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, mines, pistols, anti-tank missiles, ammunition, RPG rockets and… pic.twitter.com/LgSxk1vVtr

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 28, 2026

However, he also noted Washington has asked Jerusalem to “show restraint” to give the negotiations a chance.

“We are going to massively increase our political campaign on Hezbollah and are looking for ways to get the Lebanese Armed Forces to overcome their challenges and intend to do this on a very rapid schedule,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese leadership continues to send mixed signals regarding its readiness to commit to the disarmament of the terror group, and President Joseph Aoun even said Wednesday that a complete ceasefire is a precondition for the start of real negotiations.

Israel has rejected preconditions and views the current ceasefire as the basis of the talks.

“If Israel believes it can achieve security through the violations it is carrying out and the destruction of villages in the border area—it is mistaken, as it has tried this in the past and failed,” said Aoun, not mentioning that the ceasefire terms stipulated Israel has the right to continue clearing the buffer zone of Hezbollah infrastructure.

“The only thing that can safeguard the border is for the Lebanese state to be present throughout southern Lebanon up to the border, with its full authority. Israel must ultimately understand that the only way to achieve security is through negotiations—but it must first fully implement the ceasefire, in order to then move on to negotiations,” he added.

The IDF said Wednesday that it dismantled over thirty weapons storage facilities, command centers, and additional infrastructure over the past two days alone.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says there "is no ceasefire" in southern Lebanon as troops continue to operate against the threat of Hezbollah.

He also says that the IDF "will not tolerate" Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon, while adding… pic.twitter.com/XPU43Yn3ys

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 29, 2026

“Earlier today (Wednesday), the Israeli Air Force and the 91st Division struck approximately 20 Hezbollah military infrastructure sites in the areas of Baraashit and Shakra in southern Lebanon. The strikes targeted weapons storage facilities, command centers, and structures used by the terrorist organization for military purposes. Hezbollah used this infrastructure to plan and carry out attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, posing a threat to them,” the military said.

IDF chief Zamir emphasized that “The mission assigned to us by the political echelon is to position ourselves along a line that prevents direct fire on the communities. We have achieved this—this is the line we are holding. We may be required to remain on it. We will not tolerate attacks and fire on our communities, and we will not leave until long-term security for the northern communities is ensured.”

“Regarding threats along our borders—we have changed our approach. We will not allow a terrorist army to exist along our borders. We will not allow them to establish themselves—there is no containment, only determination. We will continue to remove threats wherever they emerge,” vowed Zamir.