The militant movement Hezbollah has no intention of disarming. The Lebanese government has decided that the Shiite movement must be disarmed before the end of the year, but Hezbollah calls that plan “a serious sin.”
Hezbollah speaks of “American orders” and states that it needs weapons to defend itself against attacks from Israel. The group therefore pretends that the call “does not exist.”
However, Hezbollah says it is willing to discuss a national security strategy. The Lebanese government has not yet responded to this.
Israel and Hezbollah have regularly attacked each other since October 2023 as a result of the war in the Gaza Strip. That conflict led to an Israeli invasion in southern Lebanon, but a ceasefire went into effect in November 2024.
Israel still carries out almost daily attacks on Lebanon, allegedly to force Hezbollah to disarm. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says that his group will not accept a timetable for disarmament as long as the attacks continue. “It gives Israel a free hand to manipulate the security, politics, territory and future of Lebanon.”
In recent times, the call to disarm Hezbollah has become louder under American pressure. The United States and other anti-Hezbollah parties want the Lebanese government to speak out more publicly about disarmament because they fear heavier Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
The Lebanese cabinet therefore gave the army permission on Tuesday to draw up a plan whereby only six official security services are allowed to carry weapons.
That call did not come out of nowhere. At the start of the ceasefire in November, Lebanon was called upon to seize all unauthorized weapons in the entire country. Then Israel would halt the offensive.
That has not happened so far. Israel has left its troops in five places in the southern border region. The Israelis are also said to have attacked Hezbollah’s weapons depots after the agreement.