Lebanese soldiers deployed in Zawtar Sharqieh, in southern Lebanon, on July 21, 2026. (Credit: Lebanese Army via AFP)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army responded Wednesday to campaigns against it in the Israeli media regarding its mission to disarm Hezbollah.
“Recently, allegations attributed to hostile Israeli media have circulated regarding positions supposedly linked to the army and its missions in the South, as well as other fabricated reports,” the Lebanese Army said in a statement.
The Lebanese Army is tasked with disarming Hezbollah, in line with a commitment made by Lebanese authorities in August and the framework agreement with Israel, which calls for the army to deploy in “pilot zones” cleared of all militia and party infrastructure.
The previous day, Israel’s Channel 11 claimed, citing an anonymous “American official,” that Lebanese generals asked Israel to keep its occupying forces in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from quickly redeploying there.
Israel has presented disarmament as a precondition for ending attacks on Lebanon and withdrawing its forces from a 620-square-kilometer “buffer zone” it occupies inside Lebanese territory.
“The army command stresses that its personnel remain committed to its directives and the missions assigned to them. They carry out their duties out of a firm belief in their national responsibility to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability, free from any other calculations or considerations,” the army said.
Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes negotiations are underway over the fate of a Hezbollah military site believed to be located beneath the Ali Taher ridge in the Nabatieh district. Israel has targeted the area almost daily, claiming that Hezbollah fighters and members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are operating there.
Israel and the U.S., which sponsored the June 26 framework agreement with Lebanon, are demanding Hezbollah’s complete disarmament. Hezbollah, however, has refused to hand over its weapons north of the Litani River and has rejected the army’s entry into the Ali Taher site, arguing that it lies north of the river.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported Monday evening that Israel was “dissatisfied with the results achieved so far by the Lebanese Army in the pilot zones where it is tasked with disarming Hezbollah in the country’s south, a month and a half after the launch of this initiative.”
The Lebanese Army denounced what it called “rumors” spread by Israeli media and questioned their timing, warning of “the seriousness of attempts to target the army and its command, sow doubt within the institution and undermine trust between the army and the Lebanese people.”
“The army command stresses that disinformation campaigns, regardless of who is behind them, will not affect the cohesion of the military institution or its ability to carry out its duties, nor will they deter it from continuing to fulfill its missions to preserve Lebanon’s security and stability,” the statement added.
