Israel demands Hezbollah disarmament, rejects Arab deception, warns Iranian-backed terror still dominates southern Lebanon.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry forcefully rejected Lebanon’s claim that it has established control over areas south of the Litani River, warning that the reality on the ground tells a very different story. Despite official statements from Beirut, extensive Hezbollah military infrastructure remains intact and operational.
The Ministry stated clearly that the objective of disarming Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is nowhere near completion. While Israel acknowledges the Lebanese government’s stated intent to curb Hezbollah’s weapons and recognizes limited actions by the Lebanese Armed Forces, these measures fall far short of what is required under the ceasefire framework.
According to Israel, Hezbollah is rearming at a faster pace than it is being dismantled, with direct support from Iran—whose foreign minister arrived in Lebanon the same day. Jerusalem also warned of troubling instances of coordination between elements inside the LAF and Hezbollah operatives, further undermining claims of state control.
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that Israel Defense Forces strikes against Hezbollah are not an obstacle to disarmament but a necessary driver of it, directly degrading terror capabilities that Lebanon has failed to neutralize.
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to the November 2024 U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, stressing that full Hezbollah disarmament is explicitly required for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future. Efforts by Beirut, while described as an initial step, were deemed insufficient given Hezbollah’s ongoing reconstruction of terror infrastructure with Iranian assistance.
Lebanon’s army claimed it now exercises exclusive authority south of the Litani and that its arms-restriction plan has reached an advanced phase. Israel countered that such declarations ignore the continued presence of Hezbollah forces and weapons caches, as well as emerging Hamas activity in southern Lebanon.
With Hezbollah openly rejecting any plan to surrender its weapons and vowing to retain its arsenal, Israeli officials signaled that further action on the northern border remains under consideration to prevent renewed attacks and enforce the ceasefire’s terms.
