Israeli forces are now operating between Merkaba and Khola in southern Lebanon, a Hebrew security news channel reported between 1:18 PM and 2:46 PM UTC on December 22, 2025. The operations follow an Israeli strike earlier today on a car on the road to Quneitra in Sidon District, southern Lebanon, which killed three people including a Lebanese army soldier and an Al-Hadath journalist, as reported by bintjbeil.org and an Al-Manar correspondent prior to 1:17 PM UTC. Over the past 90 minutes, Iranian Telegram channels provided updates on missile activity across Iran. The @mahdaviatakhbar channel stated that today's tests assessed coordination between launchers, silos, and missile cities alongside air-defense readiness, with Fars News confirming launches from IRGC Aerospace bases in locations including Mashhad, Khorramabad, Kermanshah, Mahabad, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran as part of an extensive exercise. Iran's state TV IRIB described the activity as planes. A source on the @saibbnmalik channel clarified that lines seen in the Yazd sky a few hours ago were not ballistic missiles but likely cruise missiles or low-altitude defense systems.
