Hezbollah fighters pose in modified all-terrain vehicles during a military exercise near Mlita, south Lebanon, May 21, 2023. (Credit: Jad Abou Jaoudé)
BEIRUT — "National defense strategy," "state monopoly on arms," Hezbollah's "disarmament," "national security strategy" — all of these terms have recently been used by different local political actors as Lebanese authorities intensify discussions over how to disarm Hezbollah. The discussions over the party's arsenal take place as Hezbollah emerges weakened from the war with Israel that started in October 2023 and escalated in September 2024, and in which much of the party's leadership was assassinated, including the leader himself. Israeli strikes have continued almost daily in southern Lebanon, killing 148 people, about half of them civilians, in violation of the cease-fire agreed upon between the two sides in late November.President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam pledged to ensure that only the state holds a monopoly on...
BEIRUT — "National defense strategy," "state monopoly on arms," Hezbollah's "disarmament," "national security strategy" — all of these terms have recently been used by different local political actors as Lebanese authorities intensify discussions over how to disarm Hezbollah. The discussions over the party's arsenal take place as Hezbollah emerges weakened from the war with Israel that started in October 2023 and escalated in September 2024, and in which much of the party's leadership was assassinated, including the leader himself. Israeli strikes have continued almost daily in southern Lebanon, killing 148 people, about half of them civilians, in violation of the cease-fire agreed upon between the two sides in late November.President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam pledged to ensure that only the state holds a monopoly...
