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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Israel pushing Lebanon army to search private homes for Hezbollah weapons, officials say |
| 2025-11-11 |
| [IsraelTimes] Israel is pressing Lebanon’s army to be more aggressive in disarming the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah by searching private homes in the south for weaponry, three Lebanese security officials and two Israeli officials say. The demand has emerged in recent weeks and been rejected by Lebanon’s military leadership, who fear it would ignite civil strife and derail a disarmament strategy seen by the army as cautious but effective, the Lebanese security officials tell Reuters. The army is confident it can declare Lebanon’s south free of Hezbollah arms by the end of 2025, in line with a truce deal that ended a devastating Israeli war with Hezbollah last year, sparked when the terror group began firing rockets and drones at Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after its ally Hamas carried out its devastating attack. A sweep of valleys and forests has located more than 50 tunnels and resulted in the confiscation of over 50 guided missiles and hundreds of other weapons, according to two Lebanese civilian sources briefed on army operations. But the army’s plan never included searching private property, according to the Lebanese security officials. Israel doubts it will succeed without such measures. Lebanon’s army fears that residents of the south would see house raids as subservience to Israel, the Lebanese security officials say. Beirut also worries that Israel will keep moving the goalposts, creating a permanent risk of escalatory strikes and undermining attempts to stabilize a country battered by geopolitical and economic upheavals, the security officials and a political official say. But Israeli officials say Hezbollah is accelerating efforts to re-arm from properties in the south and further north, and that the Lebanese army is failing to confront it. |
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