The weapons seized by the Lebanese army in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Photo X/Lebanese Army)
BEIRUT — A Lebanese Army unit conducted raids in the Laylaki, Jamous, and old airport road neighborhoods of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, arresting five individuals wanted in connection with shootings during a funeral on July 14, according to an army statement released Thursday.
The soldiers "came under fire" during the operation and "returned fire," wounding one of the suspects, who was later hospitalized. The army said it seized "war weapons and ammunition," which were handed over to the relevant authorities.
In May, tensions erupted in the Kafaat neighborhood after the army deployed to the area to arrest individuals who had fired shots into the air during funerals for Hezbollah supporters killed in Israeli strikes.
In May 2025, Parliament amended the 2016 law on celebratory gunfire, introducing harsher penalties.
Penalties for gunfire range from one to six years in prison, and can carry up to 20 years of hard labor and a fine in cases resulting in deaths. Despite this legislation, celebratory and mourning gunfire remain common. According to Beirut-based research center Information International, stray bullets killed an average of seven people and injured 15 others annually between 2010 and 2021.
The Lebanese government committed in August 2025 to disarm all illegal paramilitary groups, chiefly Hezbollah, and restore the state’s monopoly on weapons. In January 2026, the Lebanese Army announced it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River.
Hezbollah later drew Lebanon into the regional war on March 2 by launching an attack on Israel, which has since carried out strikes across the country that have killed more than 4,300 people. The attacks have continued despite a truce that took effect on April 17.
