Israel just accused Lebanon's army of covering for Hezbollah before talks resume

Israel's military has accused Lebanon's army of letting Hezbollah operate in the south. And this landed hours before the two countries sat back down for talks.

So what's the claim? Israel says people inside the Lebanese army were coordinating with Hezbollah. Tipping it off. Letting it move weapons out of watched areas before anyone could act.

Israel released footage to back it up. The video allegedly shows Hezbollah fighters loading weapons onto a truck at a military site in Kafra, in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces hit that truck and destroyed it. Israel hasn't said when.

Here's the timeline Israel gives. Back in December last year, a US-led monitoring mechanism told the Lebanese army to deal with the Kafra facility, because Hezbollah had allegedly been storing weapons there. Israel says Hezbollah was still there, still moving gear out, months after Lebanon's army said the job was done.

And the timing is the whole story here. This accusation dropped right before Lebanon and Israel restarted US-mediated military talks at US Central Command's headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Those talks started a day ago and carry on today.

Lebanon's army says none of it is true.

It says Israel is pushing false claims to undermine its credibility while the talks are happening. And it directly disputes the truck video. Lebanon says that footage is from 3 July this year, filmed in the village of Seddiqin — not at Kafra at all.

Lebanon gives its own timeline too. Work at Kafra started in December last year. It got paused in March, at the mechanism's own request, after Israel threatened to strike the site. Work resumed in August. The facility was shut down on 16 October — four days before Israel's accusation.

So who's right? Nobody outside the Israeli military has verified the footage. Not its authenticity. Not its date.

Bassam Yassin is a retired Lebanese brigadier general. He says the accusations are meant to create tension around the negotiations and put the army in a position where it has to defend itself.