Lebanon Claims Progress in Disarming Militant Groups Like Hezbollah

The military said it had completed the first phase of a plan to demilitarize armed groups as fears grew that Israel was preparing a new offensive against Hezbollah.

The Lebanese military said on Thursday that it had completed the first phase of a plan to disarm militant groups under a deal that ended Israel’s war with Hezbollah, as fears grew that Israel could launch a new offensive in Lebanon.

A fragile United States-brokered cease-fire that ended the devastating war has been in place for more than a year, and the Lebanese government has been under intense pressure to disarm the Iran-backed group, as required under the truce. The military’s statement did not mention Hezbollah directly, but in recent months, Israeli and U.S. officials have warned that Israel could begin a large-scale military campaign against Hezbollah if more progress on disarmament is not made.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement that the disarmament efforts were an “encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient,” and he repeated Israeli claims that Hezbollah was seeking to rearm.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on social media that “extensive Hezbollah military infrastructure” remained in southern Lebanon and accused the group of reconstituting with Iranian support. It noted that the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was visiting Lebanon on Thursday.

Mr. Netanyahu has informed some of his ministers that President Trump has given Israel a green light to act in Lebanon and to carry out another offensive against the group, Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, reported on Wednesday. But it is unclear when such an attack would take place or how long it could last. Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the Kan report.

For months, Hezbollah has resisted pressure to disarm nationwide unless Israel makes parallel concessions, including an end to near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon and a withdrawal from several hilltop positions Israel controls in southern Lebanon.

But Israel has refused to meet those demands until Hezbollah disarms.

The standoff has forced the Lebanese government into a difficult position. It is desperate to unlock billions of dollars in foreign aid from Western and Persian Gulf nations that are contingent on disarming Hezbollah, but it also fears that unilateral action against the group could provoke civil unrest. Although Hezbollah was severely weakened by the war with Israel, it retains broad support in Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim community.

The Lebanese military’s announcement came before a cabinet meeting where President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam were expected to review disarmament plans centered on Hezbollah but also covering smaller Palestinian armed factions in Lebanon.

“The army confirms that its plan to restrict weapons has entered an advanced stage, after achieving the goals of the first phase effectively and tangibly on the ground,” the military said.

Since the road map to disarm Hezbollah went into effect in September, the Lebanese military has cleared tunnels, rocket-launching sites and other fortified positions south of the Litani River, which has long served as a de facto security boundary between Hezbollah’s strongholds in the south and the rest of Lebanon. The Lebanese military is also close to completing its deployment of 10,000 soldiers to the region, as mandated by the cease-fire, according to two senior Lebanese security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

The extent of Hezbollah’s remaining capabilities is unclear. The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, has said that it no longer maintains an “armed presence” south of the Litani River, though Israeli and Lebanese officials say that its forces are entrenched farther north. Israel has not publicly presented evidence to support its claims that the militant group is rearming, a charge it has used to justify continued strikes in Lebanon despite the cease-fire.

In October, the U.S. Central Command said that the Lebanese military had removed nearly 10,000 rockets and about 400 missiles over the past year, which included weapons belonging to Hezbollah and to smaller, Palestinian militant groups. Before the war, Hezbollah had spent decades building its arsenal, which was estimated to be 120,000 to 200,000 projectiles. Much of that was destroyed in the conflict with Israel, according to senior Israeli and American officials.

The Lebanese military said on Thursday that it was continuing to clear unexploded ordnance and tunnels south of the Litani River to prevent armed groups from “irreversibly rebuilding their capabilities,” adding that details on the next phase of disarmament would be announced soon. This is expected to focus on the remaining areas of southern Lebanon, including the port city of Sidon, though officials have not made a timeline public.

Israel has intensified its bombardment north of the river since the cease-fire took effect, saying that it is striking Hezbollah targets. Analysts say much of the group’s remaining military infrastructure is concentrated there, as well as in eastern Lebanon and in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, where disarmament has not begun.

Isabel Kershner and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

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