Beirut looks to use most senior level engagement to date with Jerusalem to secure ceasefire, though Israeli government has shown no interest in a truce until Hezbollah is defanged
The post Officials seek to temper expectations as Israel, Lebanon envoys set to hold historic meeting appeared first on The Times of Israel.
On eve of US-brokered negotiations in Washington, Naim Qassem vows his terror group will never surrender, and threatens to 'capture enemy soldiers' amid ongoing fighting
The post Hezbollah chief demands Lebanon back out of ‘futile’ planned talks with Israel appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar urge Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker to halt unrest, as demonstrations fail to sway PM Nawaf Salam against Washington negotiations
The post Arab pressure reins in Hezbollah protests ahead of Israel-Lebanon talks appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Israeli forces say they discovered a Hezbollah weapons stash inside a hospital in Lebanon this weekend.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out the operation in Lebanon's Bint Jbeil municipality. Images shared with Fox News show weapons, ammunition and explosives that Israel says were found within a hospital in the area.
The IDF says it eliminated "approximately 20 terrorists" inside the hospital compound after Hezbollah was detected conducting surveillance and firing upon IDF troops from a window of the hospital.
"The Hezbollah terrorist organization systematically and repeatedly used the hospital compound and its immediate surroundings for military purposes, constituting a serious violation of international law," the IDF said in a statement.
VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL 'FIND OUT' TRUMP IS 'NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND' IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART
"The IDF operates in accordance with international law, and clarified prior to the operation to the relevant Lebanese authorities that all military activity within hospitals in Lebanon must cease, and disseminated these warnings through various channels. Despite this, Hezbollah continued to use the hospital for military activity," the IDF said in a statement.
Israel has continued operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon amid a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran this week.
GEN JACK KEANE 'SKEPTICAL' THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL 'DELAY AND OBFUSCATE'
The operation comes after U.S. talks with Iranian officials failed to make progress this weekend in Pakistan.
Speaking during a press conference from the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, Vice President JD Vance said Iran has "chosen not to accept our terms."
"The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement," Vance said. "And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America."
The vice president said talks with Iranian officials lasted 21 hours, describing them as "substantive discussions," but adding the U.S. was unwilling to compromise on its "red lines."
"So we go back to the United States, having not come to an agreement. We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on," Vance added. "And we've made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms."
Fox News Digital asked Vance if he had been in contact with President Donald Trump during the talks, and the vice president said he had been "consistently."
"I don't know how many times we talked to him — a half dozen times, a dozen times over the past 21 hours," Vance said, adding that the U.S. team was also communicating with other members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Fox News' Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian discusses US-Israel war with Iran by numbers, ongoing efforts to allow passage through key waterway, IDF in southern Lebanon, and Gaza strikes
The post Daily Briefing April 12 – As US de-mines Strait of Hormuz, traffic status still murky appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Military says it struck over 200 targets in past day, with 2 soldiers wounded in south Lebanon combat; 10 Lebanese said killed in IDF strikes; Hezbollah blasts negotiations
The post IDF and Hezbollah trade strikes, rockets as Israel and Lebanon gear up for direct talks appeared first on The Times of Israel.
PM, Trump reportedly held 'tense' call on Lebanon, with Netanyahu fearing US would declare unilateral truce with Hezbollah if he didn't accede to talks with Beirut; terror group urges government to hold firm
The post Direct Israel-Lebanon talks set for Tuesday in DC; US said pressing Israel for ceasefire appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Vice President JD Vance heads to Islamabad, Pakistan, for negotiations with Iran amid the two-week ceasefire, marking a major moment for the 41-year-old vice president and the administration as a whole.
The post Vance Heads to Pakistan for Iran Negotiations at Pivotal Juncture in Ceasefire appeared first on Breitbart.
IDF expands operations in Lebanon despite ceasefire with Tehran, while US seeks to contain fallout, leaving trajectory of northern fighting increasingly unclear
The post With all quiet, for now, on the Iran front, Israel turns its sights on Hezbollah appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will begin direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Hezbollah and advancing what he described as a “historic, sustainable peace agreement,” as tensions persist over the scope of the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
The post Netanyahu: Israel to Begin Direct Talks with Lebanon to Disarm Hezbollah — Eyes ‘Historic’ Peace Deal appeared first on Breitbart.
Under international pressure to engage in diplomacy after deadly strikes, Netanyahu says disarming Hezbollah will be focus of talks, said set to kick off next week in DC
The post Israel says peace talks with Lebanon to begin ASAP, rejects calls for truce first appeared first on The Times of Israel.
No injuries or damage reported in repeated attacks on Israeli border towns; IDF: 3,000 projectiles fired from south Lebanon since March 2, proving Beirut 'lied' about disarming group
The post IDF says it killed Hezbollah chief’s secretary as some 70 rockets fired from Lebanon appeared first on The Times of Israel.
UK says it is 'deeply troubled' by Israeli attacks, France calls them 'unacceptable'; Italy condemns 'bombings on civilian population'
The post ‘Unacceptable’: European countries slam IDF strikes on Hezbollah amid US-Iran truce appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Lebanon says 182 dead, as IDF says it targeted 'hundreds' of Hezbollah operatives; Israel told residents of Beirut's southern suburbs to leave, but strikes in city's center came without warning
The post Lebanese PM declares day of mourning after ‘unprecedented’ wave of IDF strikes appeared first on The Times of Israel.
The lack of a two-week pause in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be a dealbreaker for Iran’s regime as the ceasefire takes effect.
While the Trump administration maintains the deal does not include the Tehran-backed terrorist movement Hezbollah, Iran is threatening to use that exclusion as a pressure point against the U.S., potentially collapsing the entire ceasefire.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that "The Iran–U.S. Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments."
IRAN REVEALS 10-POINT PLAN FOR PEACE WITH THE US – HERE'S WHAT'S IN IT
His comments were later echoed by Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran over Operation Epic Fury, said the two-week ceasefire would include Lebanon.
Hezbollah reneged on a U.S. negotiated November 2024 ceasefire by entering the war against Israel on March 2025 to aid Iran. Many experts say long-term regional security depends on Lebanon’s government and army disarming the terror group.
Edy Cohen, an Israeli security expert on Hezbollah, who was born in Lebanon, told Fox News Digital that "Hezbollah will never disarm itself. From its perspective, it protects two million Shiites. The only way to defeat Hezbollah is to first define it as a terrorist organization. Not to allow its political wing to exist and also to order the Lebanese army to gather in the areas under its control area by area."
He added that "Dismantling Hezbollah must be carried out in stages. The Lebanese government must first take possession of the heavy weapons. Not to allow it to concentrate except in Dahiya [a Beirut suburb that is a Hezbollah and Shiite stronghold]. Leave it in one place and control all the roads leading to it. Little by little, it can be dismantled. Israel cannot and should not disarm Hezbollah. It can only assist with bombing from above."
TRUMP’S IRAN CEASEFIRE ROCKED WITHIN HOURS AMID REPORTED MISSILE, DRONE ATTACKS
On Wednesday, the IDF said it hit over 100 targets in 10 minutes, including, "Hezbollah headquarters, military arrays, and command-and-control centers: Intelligence command centers and central headquarters used by Hezbollah terrorists for directing and planning terror attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians." Reuters, quoting the country's health ministry, said some 91 people were killed in Beirut, with a total of at least 182 killed nationwide on Wednesday.
The IDF added, "The large-scale strike was based on precise IDF intelligence and was planned meticulously over weeks. Most of the infrastructure that was struck was located within the heart of the civilian population, as part of Hezbollah's cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians as human shields in order to safeguard its operations. Prior to the strikes, steps were taken to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible."
Since the war started and before Wednesday’s attacks, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 1,530 people in Lebanon, according to the Associated Press. The Long War Journal notes "that neither the Lebanese Health Ministry nor Hezbollah has provided an official count of the group’s fallen fighters."
Guila Fakhoury, whose father, Amer, was kidnapped by Hezbollah in 2019, told Fox News Digital that "Iran and the IRGC are occupying Lebanon through their proxy Hezbollah."
Fakhoury, who was born in Lebanon, said, "The majority of Lebanese people believe the actions of Hezbollah caused Israel to occupy southern Lebanon and don’t want Iran and Hezbollah. Hezbollah is threatening the entire government."
VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL 'FIND OUT' TRUMP IS 'NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND' IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART
As the president and co-founder of the Amer Foundation, an organization dedicated to help families of illegal detainees and educate on Middle East policy and geopolitics, she said is seeing some positive steps being taken including Lebanese President Joseph Aoun calling for negotiations with Israel.
She said the "only solution is to have peace with Israel. I think there a lot of Shiites who are against Hezbollah… The majority of the Lebanese people just want peace. We hope the Trump administration will push the Lebanese government and Israel’s government to start peace talks."
Last week, Iran’s regime defied Lebanon’s expulsion order for its ambassador by saying he would stay, further increasing tensions in a country in the crosshairs of the latest fighting between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanon had declared Ambassador Mohammad Reza Shibani "persona non grata" to weaken Iran’s diplomatic presence and have a chargé d'affaires at its embassy instead. But the deadline to leave the country was Sunday and an Iranian spokesperson said the ambassador’s mission in Beirut continues.
Fox News Digital reached out to Lebanon’s government and the Embassy in Washington D.C. for a comment.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Dozens said killed in Beirut, as Israel rejects Pakistan claim that ceasefire encompasses Lebanon; Hezbollah claims it's on cusp of victory; IDF says it planned latest op weeks ago
The post IDF launches largest airstrikes yet on Hezbollah; Trump: Iran truce doesn’t cover Lebanon appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Iran and its proxy terrorist militias have issued targeted threats against universities in Lebanon, and the State Department has warned Americans to get out now while commercial flights are still available, U.S. officials said.
Officials said Iran has "specifically threatened" American universities across the Middle East.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut described the security situation in Lebanon as "volatile and unpredictable."
"Airstrikes, drones and rocket attacks occur throughout the country, especially in the south, the Beqaa, and parts of Beirut," officials wrote in a security alert.
STATE DEPARTMENT URGES AMERICANS TO LEAVE MIDDLE EAST AS AIRSPACE CLOSURES DISRUPT TRAVEL
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut added that it strongly encourages U.S. citizens in southern Lebanon, near the border with Syria, in refugee settlements and in the southern suburbs of Beirut — including Dahiyeh — to depart those areas immediately.
"We recommend that U.S. citizens in Lebanon who choose not to leave prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate further," according to the State Department.
HEZBOLLAH, IRAN UNLEASH COORDINATED CLUSTER BOMB STRIKES ON ISRAEL IN MAJOR ESCALATION
Commercial flights are being offered by Middle East Airlines, operating out of Beirut Rafic Hariri airport.
Officials said Americans should strongly consider departing on one of the flights "if they believe it is safe to do so."
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is providing limited passport services on an emergency basis to U.S. citizens.
All routine consular services, including visa operations, are suspended until further notice.
Those who have plans to travel to Lebanon should cancel them, officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for an immediate de-escalation in the Middle East, urging a halt to U.S.–Israeli strikes on critical infrastructure as fighting intensifies across the region.
"France calls for the immediate implementation of a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, whether related to water or to energy," Macron wrote on X, reinforcing France’s push for diplomacy even as the United States and Israel emphasize military pressure against Iran and its proxies. "Freedom and security of navigation must be restored."
President Donald Trump recently struck a mixed tone on France’s role, saying he had spoken with Macron and was cautiously optimistic Paris ultimately would help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route for oil and energy supplies.
MULTIPLE ALLIES DECLINE US CALLS FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SUPPORT AMID RISING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS
On "a scale of 0 to 10," Trump said Macron had been "an eight."
"Not perfect, but it’s France," he said at a press briefing in the White House Monday.
Trump went on to say he believes Macron "is going to help" regarding securing the Strait of Hormuz, but added, "I don’t do a hard sell on them, because my attitude is we don’t need anybody. We’re the strongest nation in the world."
"I’m almost doing it . . . because I want to find out how they react," Trump said, suggesting the U.S. is also testing its allies.
In a future crisis, he warned, "I’ve been saying for years that if we ever did need them, they won’t be there. Not all of them, but they won’t be there."
The divide reflects a broader question shaping the conflict: whether diplomacy can contain Iran’s regional network, or whether force is required to dismantle it.
WORLD LEADERS SPLIT OVER MILITARY ACTION AS US-ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN IN COORDINATED OPERATION
That tension is playing out most clearly over the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that serves as one of the world’s most critical energy choke points, with roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies passing through it each day.
In recent weeks, Iran has disrupted traffic through the strait with drone, missile and naval threats, raising fears of a broader economic shock as commercial shipping slows and global energy markets face increasing uncertainty.
Macron said France "will never take part in operations to open or free" the critical waterway "in the current context," emphasizing that France is "not a party to the conflict."
Paris instead has proposed escorting commercial vessels only after hostilities subside, in coordination with regional actors.
At the same time, European allies — including France — signaled they are not entirely stepping back from efforts to secure the strategic waterway.
Leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan expressed in a joint statement released Thursday a "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts" to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Iran to "cease immediately its threats" against commercial shipping.
A European diplomat told Fox News that the United Kingdom is leading a diplomatic effort to build support among European and Gulf partners for a coordinated response, with discussions underway on how such a mission could be structured.
NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK
However, European officials remain divided over timing, with concerns that launching such an effort during active hostilities could introduce new high-value targets into the conflict, according to the diplomat.
Lebanon has emerged as a second front in the war after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, began attacking Israel following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
The group launched rockets and drones from southern Lebanon, prompting Israeli retaliatory strikes and escalating the conflict into a broader regional confrontation tied directly to Tehran, Iran, and its proxy network.
While distancing itself from direct military involvement, France is intensifying its diplomatic push in Lebanon, urging direct negotiations between Israel and Beirut following signals from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that he is open to talks.
French officials view this as a "window of opportunity" to stabilize the border and prevent further escalation, arguing that both sides share an interest in preventing Lebanon from becoming a launchpad for attacks against Israel.
But Israeli officials have sharply pushed back, arguing that diplomacy cannot succeed while Hezbollah remains armed and active.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that since Hezbollah joined the fighting following strikes on Iranian regime, the group has launched hundreds of rockets, missiles and drones toward Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said Israel has come under sustained attack from Lebanese territory in recent weeks.
"Since March 2nd, Israel has been attacked from Lebanese territory more than 2,000 times with missiles and drones," he wrote on X Tuesday.
Sa’ar warned that the crisis extends beyond the region, calling disruptions to maritime routes "naval terrorism that harms the global economy."
While expressing openness to normalization with Lebanon, Sa’ar made clear, "The obstacle to this is Hezbollah," adding that Beirut must take "meaningful action" against the group’s weapons, funding and leadership.
Analysts say that gap — between France’s diplomatic push and Israel’s security demands — reflects a deeper structural problem that has persisted for years.
France has "potential influence that they never use … essentially the stick," David Schenker, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs who oversaw Lebanon policy during the first Trump administration and now directs the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Fox News Digital.
He argued that Paris has failed to use its leverage to pressure Hezbollah or its backers.
While Schenker said direct negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel could be useful, he questioned whether they would change realities on the ground.
"I don’t see how a ceasefire in and of itself changes the status quo," he said.
TRUMP PRESSES NATO PARTNERS ON SUPPORT AS HEGSETH BLASTS HESITATION
Lebanese leaders repeatedly have pledged to assert a state monopoly over weapons, but "they haven’t really done much," Schenker said, adding there is "zero confidence" they would move forward given Hezbollah’s opposition.
Even the Lebanese army has signaled its limits, prioritizing "national unity and the safety of the army above disarmament," he said.
On the ground, the situation continues to deteriorate rapidly.
Violence in Lebanon has surged dramatically since the war in Iran began.
"There has been a 400% increase in violence events in Lebanon," said Bassel Doueik, a researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), adding that Israeli strikes and Hezbollah clashes have displaced at least 1 million people.
Doueik said Israel appears to be seeking to create a buffer zone south of the Litani River in Lebanon, warning the escalation could lead to "another occupation of southern Lebanon similar to 1982."
At the same time, Hezbollah — long backed by Iran — continues to operate as a powerful armed force inside Lebanon, complicating efforts to reach any durable political settlement.
France has played a leading diplomatic role in Lebanon for years, including backing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). But the mission has faced growing challenges, including restrictions on movement and attacks on its personnel, raising criticism about its effectiveness.
Critics argue that repeated diplomatic initiatives have failed to curb Hezbollah’s military buildup, leaving Israel increasingly skeptical of new proposals.
"The French are specializing in carrots," Schenker said, arguing that Paris has been reluctant to use pressure despite its influence in Lebanon.
But he added that the transatlantic divide is not entirely one-sided.
"This is a war that was launched by Israel and the United States, and they disagreed with it," he said, noting that protecting global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz should be "an international responsibility."
JERUSALEM: Iran proxy Hezbollah fired some 200 missiles and drones into the Jewish state overnight and into Thursday in what Israeli media described as an "integrated Hezbollah and Iran joint attack."
The attacks prompted fierce retaliatory strikes from the Israeli Defense Forces into Hezbollah strongholds in the Beirut suburbs.
The Israel Defense Forces said, "The IDF is operating with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization following its deliberate decision to attack Israel on behalf of the Iranian regime. The IDF will not tolerate any harm to Israeli civilians and will forcibly respond against any threat posed to the State of Israel."
Calling its new operation "Eaten Straw," the terror group claimed to have targeted Israeli military sites in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, among other targets.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH BORDER TENSIONS RISE AS TERROR GROUP REARMS, RESISTS US- BACKED CEASEFIRE
Matthew Levitt, a leading scholar on Hezbollah from the Washington Institute, told Fox News about Eaten Straw. "The term comes from a Koran verse about destroying one’s enemies to the point that they are destroyed like grains of straw husks. In fact, it is going to lead to a massive Israel response."
Just days prior to Wednesday’s attacks, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun charged Hezbollah with pushing Lebanon into becoming "a second Gaza."
An Israeli security expert from the Israel Alma Research and Education Center, Sarit Zehavi, told Fox News Digital, that "I think that Hezbollah is trying to scare Israel from launching further operations and I truly hope that we will not be afraid, and our government will do what it has to do."
IRAN COULD ‘ACTIVATE’ HEZBOLLAH IF US TARGETS REGIME, TRUMP’S INNER CIRCLE TO DECIDE: EXPERT
The Lebanese armed forces also failed to meet President Trump’s deadline to disarm Hezbollah terrorist organization in 2025.
The Lebanese government announced on Tuesday that it is interested in direct talks with Israel to end the current conflict with Hezbollah, yet one Israeli official claimed Beirut was not "affecting Hezbollah’s behavior in any way," the Times of Israel cited a report from news site Y-Net reported.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, speaking Wednesday, told members of the United Nations Security Council in New York that, "Lebanon now faces two options: either the Lebanese government takes real actions and restrains Hezbollah, or Israel uses its force to dismantle this terrorist organization. There is no other option."
Edy Cohen, a Lebanese-born Israeli scholar of Hezbollah, dismissed the Lebanese government overtures to Israel as political theater. He referenced the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah that concluded with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, requiring the Lebanese state and army to disarm Hezbollah, as a failed effort.
Cohen told Fox News Digital: "I don’t believe the Lebanese government. It is a game between them and Hezbollah. The Lebanese offered, for the first time since 1982, it would agree to dialogue with Israel. The first condition is a ceasefire. Hezbollah told the Lebanese government give the Israelis this offer. Hezbollah wants to stop this war. And that is how the government of Lebanon jokes about us."
Speaking during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Lebanese Ambassador Ahmad Arafa told the council, "The Lebanese people do not want war, and the Lebanese government is moving forward in implementing its decisions and will not backtrack," The National reported.
According to the National report, Arafa said, "In our modern history, no Lebanese government has demonstrated this level of courage and determination to reclaim the state authority, to restrict weapons to legitimate state institutions and to extend the state's control exclusively through its own forces over all Lebanese territory."
An Israeli official told the Times of Israel that "The Lebanese government needs to get a grip on their country or Hezbollah parts of Beirut will soon look like Gaza."
Amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, analysts say the Trump administration should pressure Lebanon to fulfill its commitments to disarm the Iran-backed terrorist group as it drags the country into another war with Israel.
David Schenker, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs who oversaw Lebanon's policy during the first Trump administration and now directs the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said: "The U.S. should make clear to Lebanon that it is time for the state to honor its ceasefire commitment to disarm Hezbollah," he told Fox News Digital. Schenker warned if Beirut "doesn’t pursue disarmament, it will remain a failed state."
The warning comes as the IDF attacked multiple Hezbollah targets Friday in response to the terror group's launching of rockets and drones toward Israel on March 2, its first attack since a November 2024 ceasefire ended the previous round of fighting.
IRAN SMUGGLED $1B TO HEZBOLLAH THIS YEAR DESPITE US SANCTIONS, TREASURY OFFICIAL SAYS
Since the first day of the renewed fighting, the IDF has carried out over 200 strikes across Lebanon targeting Hezbollah’s military, media and financial infrastructure, as well as operatives from the group and affiliated networks, according to a March 5 analysis by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also threatened Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem.
The renewed fighting has exposed deep tensions inside Lebanon’s government, which in recent days called on Hezbollah to disarm and ordered security agencies to prevent attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory.
IRAN COULD ‘ACTIVATE’ HEZBOLLAH IF US TARGETS REGIME, TRUMP’S INNER CIRCLE TO DECIDE: EXPERT
Schenker says the move reflects frustration in Beirut rather than a fundamental policy shift. "The Government of Lebanon’s latest cabinet vote on Hezbollah disarmament is nothing new," Schenker said. "It is a reiteration of the cabinet decision last August mandating the disarmament of Hezbollah. The language is perhaps more strident, but the message is the same."
"It is a reflection of the Government’s frustration and desperation over Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into yet another war with Israel," he added. "It also reflects the Lebanese Armed Forces’ failure to date to take its mission of disarmament seriously."
Hezbollah’s latest attacks appear to have caught Lebanese officials off guard. Reports suggest the group had previously assured officials it would not intervene in a broader regional conflict tied to Iran.
Schenker said the episode underscores a longstanding reality in Lebanon’s political system. "The government of Lebanon has never tried to control Hezbollah," he said. "The few months that the LAF devoted to disarmament in south Lebanon was performed with Hezbollah’s consent and coordinated with the militia."
Still, public frustration inside Lebanon may be shifting the political environment. "Given the population’s growing anger toward Hezbollah now, the political environment should be more conducive for the LAF to confront Hezbollah," Schenker said.
ON MADURO’S ‘TERROR ISLAND,’ HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES MOVE IN AS TOURISTS DRIFT OUT
"The fear of ‘civil war’—i.e., Hezbollah perpetrating violence against the Government—remains," he added. "But increasingly, Lebanese prefer taking that risk and possibly gaining sovereignty than being in a state of perpetual war with Israel."
In a clip posted on X by the Center for Peace Communications, Lebanese people angrily responded to Hezbollah's actions with one man telling Jusoor News: "If Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem wants to commit suicide, let him go do it in Tehran, not Lebanon."
According to David Daoud, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hezbollah’s decision to attack Israel despite the ceasefire reflects the group’s willingness to escalate the conflict even as Lebanon’s government seeks to avoid another war.
The crisis has also drawn international attention. French President Emmanuel Macron called for urgent steps to prevent Lebanon from sliding deeper into war.
"Everything must be done to prevent this country, so close to France, from once again being drawn into war," Macron wrote in a statement posted on X on March 5 after speaking with Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese leaders.
Macron said Hezbollah "must immediately cease its fire toward Israel," while urging Israel to avoid expanding military operations inside Lebanon.
For now, analysts say the outcome may depend on whether Lebanon’s government is willing to confront Hezbollah directly or continue to tolerate Iran's terror proxy that has long operated outside the control of the government's control.
