Lebanese Army Prepares to Disarm Hezbollah

Hezbollah was not so long ago the strongest armed force in Lebanon, so strong that the national army did not dare to challenge it. But a lot has happened to weaken the terror group and to strengthen the Lebanese national army, so that it may now, at long last, be forced to give up its weapons. More on the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah can be found here: “Lebanon Cabinet Welcomes Army Plan to Disarm Hezbollah, No Timeline Given,” Algemeiner, September 5, 2025:

Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday welcomed a plan by the army that would disarm Hezbollah and said the military would begin executing it, without setting a timeframe for implementation and cautioning that the army had limited capabilities.

A national divide over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim terrorist group.

For years, Hezbollah lorded it over other groups in Lebanon. It had a huge arsenal of weapons given to it by Iran — some 150,000 rockets and missiles. Its soldiers would hold goose-stepping parades through Beirut, a show of strength to intimidate all the other groups in Lebanon.

The US and Saudi Arabia, along with Hezbollah’s primarily Christian and Sunni opponents in Lebanon, have ramped up calls for the group to give up arms….

It is not only the Christians and Sunnis in Lebanon, but also many Shi’a, including those who belong to the Shi’a political movement known as Amal, who would like to see the Hezbollah Shi’a disarmed. For by launching attacks on Israel, Hezbollah prompts strong counter-attacks by the IDF, which has already led to the devastation of infrastructure in the Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.

Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah outposts in southern Lebanon would cease once the terror group obeyed the terms of the ceasefire and pulled its men and weapons north of the Litani River, as it had promised to do. Should that happen, the IDF could also dismantle its own outposts south of the Litani, or even turn them over for use by the Lebanese National Army.

Hezbollah is resisting the national government’s call to surrender its weapons, and it looks as though the Lebanese Army will eventually have to use force to ensure that the only armed force in Lebanon is the national army. It is now in a much better position to face down Hezbollah. The terror group has been devastated by the IDF, which has destroyed between 80% and 90% of its once-huge storehouse of 150,000 missiles and rockets. In addition, the IDF has managed to kill all of the senior Hezbollah leaders, including Hasan Nasrallah and his successor Hashem Safieddine, right down to the level of commanders. The “exploding pagers” also put out of commission more than three thousand Hezbollah fighters, who were too seriously wounded ever to fight again. Finally, the Americans have since the beginning of the year supplied the Lebanese National Army with weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Never before has Hezbollah been so weak, nor the Lebanese National Army so strong.

The United States, Israel, and the Gulf Arabs have all been pressuring the Lebanese government to act against Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait have told Lebanon that if it wants aid from them to rebuild damaged infrastructure it must first disarm Hezbollah. Now the Lebanese cabinet has approved a plan to do just that, by force if necessary, but without disclosing the timeline. Hezbollah has no allies left. In Syria, the Sunnis now rule, and will never forgive the Shi’a of Hezbollah for backing Assad. With the route through Syria to deliver arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon now closed, Iran cannot help what was once its closest proxy. For Hezbollah, the end is nigh.