Israel Debate over Hezbollah disarmament in Lebanon comes to a head
In Lebanon, the debate about disarming the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia is coming to a head. The cabinet met today in the capital Beirut to discuss the issue. Government sources said in the evening that the discussion would be postponed until next week. Most recently, pressure from the USA in particular has increased to take concrete steps towards disarmament.
05.08.2025, 19:32
05.08.2025, 19:34
SDA
Before the recent war with Israel, the Shiite organization was one of the most heavily armed non-state actors in the world. It has since been significantly weakened and its arsenal of weapons has also shrunk. President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nauaf Salam as well as the USA and Israel are demanding that Hezbollah hand over all its weapons to the state army. Hezbollah rejects this as long as Israeli troops are stationed in Lebanon and Israel attacks targets in the country.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israel and Hezbollah have been firing at each other, which has developed into a parallel war of its own. Israel invaded the neighboring country with ground troops and massively bombed targets, especially in the Beirut area, in the south and east. Hezbollah, for its part, attacked targets in Israel.
Hezbollah does not want to agree to a concrete timetable
A ceasefire came into force at the end of November. According to this agreement, Hezbollah is to be disarmed first in the south and near the border with Israel. Although Hezbollah is open to talks about its weapons arsenal, it will not agree to a concrete timetable as long as Israel's attacks in Lebanon continue and its troops have not been withdrawn. Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassim confirmed this today in a televised speech.
Israel's military is attacking Lebanon almost daily on the grounds that it wants to enforce disarmament. Israeli soldiers are also stationed at five posts in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader: "Win together or lose together"
The demand by the USA, among others, to disarm the organization throughout the country is politically highly risky. Hezbollah has hundreds of thousands of supporters and still has great influence, especially in the Shiite community. If a decision is made to disarm, Hezbollah members - which is a militia as well as a political party - could leave the government in protest. There are therefore fears that Lebanon could slide into the next political crisis in such a scenario.
Kassim said that the whole of Lebanon would either emerge from this conflict as the winner or the loser. "We will all win together or lose together."
Some Hezbollah supporters were out and about with the organization's flags in the Beirut area the previous evening. Troops from the Lebanese state army were deployed to prevent these flags from being carried.
