BEIRUT: Lebanon on Tuesday rejected Israeli accusations that a Lebanese soldier killed in an air strike near the southern city of Sidon had links to Hezbollah, after Israel said it had attacked three fighters working to rebuild the group’s infrastructure.

Israel’s military said the men were involved in planning attacks against its forces and that two were members of Hezbollah’s air defence unit. It also alleged that one of those killed was serving concurrently in Lebanese army intelligence.

The Lebanese army later confirmed that Warrant Officer Ali Abdullah of the army’s Support Brigade and Anti-Tank Regiment was killed when an Israeli air strike hit a vehicle near Sidon on Monday.

The Lebanese defence ministry said suggestions that army personnel were tied to political or armed groups were false, and Defence Minister Michel Menassa said such reports amounted to a malicious attack on the institution.

A Hezbollah official also denied any link between the group and members of the Lebanese army.

Soldier among those killed in an Israeli strike

Diplomatic efforts are continuing to try to shore up a fragile truce along the Israel-Lebanon border.

A US-backed ceasefire agreed in November 2024 ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the disarmament of the Iran-aligned group, beginning in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.

On Tuesday, the Lebanese army said it was nearing completion of the first phase of its plan and was carefully assessing and planning subsequent stages, taking into account all relevant conditions and developments.

Israeli air strike

Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, saying such activity violates understandings governing the Israel-Lebanon frontier.

A committee overseeing the Hezbollah-Israel truce said last week it was focusing on returning displaced civilians to their homes, amid concerns that tensions could flare if a year-end deadline to disarm Hezbollah is not met.

Lebanon’s army said on Tuesday a soldier was among those killed in an Israeli strike a day earlier and flatly denied the Israeli military’s accusation that he was a Hezbollah operative.

The Lebanese army said Sergeant Major Ali Abdullah had been killed on Monday “in an Israeli air strike that targeted a car he was in” near the southern city of Sidon.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency had said the strike killed three people.

The Israeli army said it had killed three Hezbollah operatives, adding in a statement on Tuesday that “one of the terrorists eliminated during the strike simultaneously served in the Lebanese intelligence unit”.

A Lebanese army official said it was “not true” that the soldier was a Hezbollah member, calling Israel’s claim “a pretext” to justify the attack.

The Lebanese military said in a statement that it “categorically denies” what it called “false and misleading information concerning the affiliation and loyalty of some military personnel” published by an “enemy” website.

Soldiers’ loyalty to the army and to Lebanon “remains steadfast and firm”, it added.

Lebanese Defence Minister Michel Menassa said reports alleging “the relationship of members of the military institution with political parties” and other bodies were “false and a malicious attack on the army”.

‘One sole loyalty’

Lebanese army personnel “have one sole loyalty, which is to their homeland”, he said in a statement.

“Calling into question the loyalty of members of the institution serves the enemies of Lebanon,” he added.

Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south.

The army plans to complete the group’s disarmament south of the Litani River — about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border with Israel — by year’s end.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal told a military meeting on Tuesday, “the army is in the process of finishing the first phase of its plan”, and is carrying out the careful evaluation, study, and planning “for the subsequent phases”.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2025