In November 2024, Lebanon made a commitment, under the ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S., to disarm Hezbollah. It has failed to do so, just as it has failed to force Hezbollah to withdraw its forces entirely from the area between the Litani River and the border with Israel. The government of Israel, tired of merely tit-for-tat responses to Hezbollah missile and drone attacks on the Jewish state, has launched a terrific assault on Hezbollah strongholds — bombing mainly the Dahiyeh district in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley — while warning several hundred thousand Lebanese, most of them Hezbollah supporters, to leave southern Beirut at once before the IDF’s full-bore attack on that area is unleashed. Hezbollah retains the support of many, though not all, of the Shi’a, but the Christians and Sunni Muslims are enraged that Hezbollah, by continuing to strike Israel, has dragged Lebanon into a war it does not want.
Now Israel’s defense minister has issued a warning to the Lebanese government to act against Hezbollah. That is now possible, for four reasons: first, the steep decline in popular support for Hezbollah, which many Lebanese wish would stop attacking Israel and ideally disband, in order to prevent Lebanon from suffering more punishing blows by the IDF. Second, Hezbollah has been severely weakened by the IDF ever since October 8, 2023, when it entered the war to support Hamas; its arsenal of missiles and rockets has been reduced by 80%. Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, and Nasrallah’s successor, Hashem Safieddine, were both killed by the IDF.
In addition, the IDF has killed many thousands of Hezbollah combatants. With its “exploding pagers” caper, the IDF also wounded more than 4,000 Hezbollah operatives so severely that they are no longer fit for combat. Third, Hezbollah can no longer receive weapons from Iran, now that the route through Syria has been closed; the Sunni Arabs who now run Syria regard the Shi’a supremacists in Tehran, and their Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon, with loathing. Fourth, the Lebanese National Army in 2025 received several shipments of weapons from the United States, including a $230 million weapons package in September, to help strengthen the LNA in its effort to disarm Hezbollah.
More on Defense Minister Katz’s warning to the Lebanese government can be found here: “Katz warns Lebanon will pay ‘full price’ if Hezbollah attacks continue,” by Stav Levaton, Times of Israel, March 7, 2026:
Defense Minister Israel Katz warns Lebanon that it will pay a “full price” if Hezbollah continues to threaten Israel, saying Beirut has failed to meet its commitment to disarm the Iran-backed group, as outlined by the November 2024 ceasefire agreement.
Speaking after a situation assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior defense officials, Katz says Israel will not allow attacks on its troops or communities from Lebanese territory, saying that residents will not be evacuated.
“You committed… to uphold the agreement and disarm Hezbollah, and that is not happening,” Katz says in a message to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “Act and take action before we do even more.”
An estimated 300,000 to over 500,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon following intensified Israeli airstrikes and evacuation orders covering the Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.
There are clear signs that the Lebanese government, and the 70% of the Lebanese people who are not Shia, are fed up with Hezbollah. That government is now prepared to challenge the terror group on the ground in the hope that, given its weakness, because of both Israeli attacks and the cutoff of arms from Iran, the Lebanese army will be able, with its recent shipments of American weapons, to finally disarm Hezbollah.
More on the Lebanese government moving against Hezbollah can be found here:
Justice Minister Adel Nassar is considering taking legal action against Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, L’Orient-Le Jour learned Saturday from a source close to the minister….
Several anti-Hezbollah MPs and figures, including lawmaker Ashraf Rifi, had already filed a complaint last August against Hezbollah’s leader after a speech in which he threatened a “confrontation” if the government carried out its plan to disarm the militia. At the time, Naim Qassem raised the possibility of a fight reminiscent of the Battle of Karbala. That battle took place in 680 between the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, supported by his family and a few followers (fewer than 100), and the army (4,000 soldiers) of the Umayyad caliph Yazid, to whom Hussein refused to pledge allegiance.
As the Islamic regime in Iran is being pounded by Israel and America, Iran’s Lebanese mini-me proxy, Hezbollah, is similarly being devastated by Israel alone. And 70% of Lebanese are ardently hoping that the terror group will finally be disarmed, by a mix of Israeli bombs and Lebanese Army ground attacks. As hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have had to evacuate their homes, it is not Israel but Hezbollah that they blame. Hezbollah is coming to its end as an armed force. It won’t be long now.
Wellington says
As I’ve written before here at JW, yet another Middle Eastern opportunity was lost when Lebanon was not made into two Lebanons, each about 2,000 square miles in area, i.e., a southern Lebanon which is Christian and aligned with Israel and a northern Lebanon which is Muslim and hopefully neutral re Israel, but even if hostile to the Jewish state still further removed from Israel’s northern border.
What? Better the way it has been? As almost always is the case where Middle Eastern matters are concerned, nothing has been better the way it is now, including Israel leaving the Gaze Strip in 2005, not formally annexing the so-called West Bank after the Six-Day War (and with expulsions aplenty to boot), and even giving up the Sinai as well per the Camp David Accords.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Actually, just like Transjordan was made into Jordan and Israel, similarly Syria was made into Syria and Lebanon – the latter being mainly Christian, the former being mainly muslim. There wouldn’t have been a need for 2 Lebanons, just a proper separation of muslim and non-muslim populations. Be it in Syria, Transjordan or the Indian subcontinent. But since there wasn’t, there has been endless bloodletting for more than 75 years
Wellington says
My understanding, Infidel, is that for centuries what is now Lebanon (minus Syria of course) has been composed of both Christians and Muslims—in earlier centuries definitely a lot more Christians than Muslims but since the mid-20th century something in the range of 55-60% Christians and at least 40% Muslims, hence the “recommendation” I made above.
I don’t think it realistic to have kept all of Lebanon as a Christian state though I would be glad if such had been done. I was “merely” trying to offer a compromise among reasonable minds (such being a rare commodity when dealing with Muslims) in order to have created a better situation than exists now. After all, Jews agreed to the UN partition plan of 1947 which would have only left them around 13% of the original British mandate but, alas, Muslims being Muslims wanted it all, which is regularly the wont of the only major religion which is, as both Bertrand Russell and Winston Churchill noted a century ago, totalitarian in both structure and ideology.
Yes, when invoking logic and common sense, as well as reasonable compromise and a sense of fairness, the forever illogical and permanent enemy of common sense, the efficacy of compromise and fairness too (except for a temporary and deceitful hudna), rears its ugly head again and again. Still doing such now—and will forever if I don’t miss my take here on the absolutely worst religion of all time.
James Lincoln says
typo:
Israel would not be hated more than they already are.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
Yes.
Israel should have kept:
1. Gaza
2. Judea and Samaria
3. Sinai
Israel would be hated more than they already are.
James Lincoln says
typo:
Israel would not be hated more than they already are.
Wellington says
Thanks for your reply, James. Yes, as I have many times asked, if Israel had not left Gaza, had annexed Judea and Samaria, had not given up the Sinai, does anyone of sense and knowledge think matters would be even worse now? Actually, I would argue that, while the situation would still be far from ideal (thanks, Islam, for absolutely nothing once again), it would be better than what we have at present.
I will concede the possibility of the Sinai being given back to Egypt as a neutral or even a bare positive, but no way not annexing the so-called West Bank after the 1967 War and leaving Gaza in 2005 were the better options. In bitter ironic mode, the chief fault of Israel, a nation that represents in so many ways the best of mankind, has been its being too kind. Even Shakespeare would have been hard pressed writing a play about this.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Wellington & James
You are both right. The best example of it is the Golan Heights. Israel annexed it in 1982 (how I wish someone like Menachem Begin or Yitzhak Shamir was in power today), and the rest of the world, after condemning it at the UN at the time, forgot about it. Today, it’s completely merged into Israel, and even Syria has given up all hopes of ever getting it back
It would have been the same had Israel annexed Judea, Samaria, Gaza and even Sinai. In fact, at this point, I’d even toss in South Lebanon south of the Litani river, which would include Tyre
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Actually, the missiles that headed towards Cyprus happened to come not from Iran, but from Hizbullah strongholds in Lebanon. So British, or any other entities interested in defending Cyprus, instead of focusing on Iran, can join Israel’s efforts in southern Lebanon
In fact, given how inept Lebanon has been in curbing Hizbullah even after that group got decimated 2 years ago, I strongly believe that Israel should occupy and annex everything south of the Litani river, and expel all muslims there to either Syria or Lebanon. Only people who should be allowed to live there should be Lebanese Christians or Jews
Tony says
Israel should annex and control all the territory in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem, etc., and Israel should close all the Mosques, Muslim Schools, etc. while expelling all the Muslims for their terrorism, violence, and discrimination of Israelis. Plus, Trump should demand that Saudi Arabia and all the Oil Producers ramp up full oil production, no excuses of war. Muslim Jihad with Money, Oil-Production Jihad, should not be used by raising oil prices against Trump and the West as taught in Islam’s Qur’an(Qur’an 9:5, 29, 111; 49:15, etc.).
Allah’s Islam, a supremacist Antichrist Ideology and a DEATH-CULT, is continuously using Western Freedoms and Laws against Non-Muslims to conquer Non-Muslims under Islamic Rule. Non-Muslims should legally designate Islam as a Muslim Terrorist Organization(MTO) where Mosques, Muslim Schools, Islamic Centers, Sharia Courts, and Muslim Organizations are banned due to their incitement for segregation and discrimination to fight back against ISLAMIZATION, Muslim subjugation, and tyrannical violence(Qur’an 4:65, 89; 9:5,29,111; 7:179; 8:22; 45:18; 47:4; 60:4; 98:6-7, etc.). ISLAM IS THE DAILY PRACTICE OR EXPRESSION OF ISLAMIC LAW, A WAY OF LIFE AND A REIGN OF TERROR BY 50+ ISLAMIC COUNTRIES. Allah in Qur’an 4:95 says, “Those believers who stay other than those who are substantially injured are not equal to those who perform jihad for the sake of Allah with their money and their lives…. Islam must be banned as illegal because Islam and its Muslims, enemies of Non-Muslims, publicly pray but are privately a Terrorist Organization.
Muslims are subversive terrorists for Allah with their MONEY and their LIVES while undermining a society from within using the man-made book of lies and deceit, the Qur’an. Allah in Qur’an 49:15 says, “Surely the believers[Muslims] are only those who believed in Allah and his messenger. They do not doubt, and they performed jihad with their MONEY and their LIVES for the sake of Allah. Those are the truthful.” Allah in Qur’an 4:101 says, “…Surely the infidels(Non-Muslims) were your clear enemies.”
MUSLIM BELIEVERS are a greater TERROR than Allah to make Islam supreme. Allah in Qur’an 59:13 says, “You[Muslims] are a greater terror in their chests than Allah. This is because they[Jews & Christians] are people who do not understand.” Islam must be banned as illegal, and we have the legal right to defend ourselves from Muslim violence. Also, Allah describes Muslim women in Jenna, Allah’s Paradise, as whores of Allah in Qur’an 56:37.