A photo of the Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, during a commemoration in the southern suburbs of Beirut, on Sept. 27, 2025. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah's spokesperson denied on Monday any "expanded" military activity in different areas in Lebanon and attempt to rebuild its elite force, after a report by Israeli daily Maariv published the day before.
Israel "fabricates stories and claims to justify its attacks," the spokesperson told L'Orient Today.
Israel has recently increased its attacks in violation of the cease-fire agreement reached in November 2024, following more than 13 months of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The latter claims to target Hezbollah fighters and infrastructures, as it presses, alongside the United States, for the party's disarmament. Hezbollah still refuses to fully disarm, especially north of the Litani River.
"In recent weeks, with massive encouragement and support from Iran, the Israeli intelligence and Northern Command have observed actions being carried out by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Its activity is expanding across several areas in the country: it is constructing defensive positions north of the Litani River, building defenses in the Bekaa Valley and southern Beirut, it is working to rebuild its Radwan forces, and it is attempting to retrieve and utilize weapons buried in bunkers that the Israeli army had previously struck", read the Maariv report.
Maariv also claimed that Hezbollah is "attempting a dual approach: on one hand, it is arming itself, training, and building strength; on the other, it is trying to do so as covertly as possible, fearing an aggressive Israeli action that could alter what remains of its military and political standing within Lebanon."
Hezbollah's spokesperson told L'Orient Today that based on U.N. Security Council 1701 and the cease-fire agreement, "the resistance is cooperating with the Lebanese Army in handing over the weapons south of the Litani River."
"These claims are part of an Israeli propaganda to justify its strikes and offering explanations to the international community", he added.
Contacted by L'Orient Today, UNIFIL was not immediately available to comment on the Israeli report.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Hezbollah was attempting to "rearm itself", adding that Israel won't allow Lebanon to become "a renewed front" against it, and that Israel will act as necessary."
The Israeli army, as well as Israeli officials and media, have been increasingly stating recently that Hezbollah is trying to rebuild its military capabilities.
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
