The Lebanese Armed Forces have made unexpectedly rapid progress in dismantling Hezbollah’s “military” infrastructure in the country’s south, aided by Israeli intelligence passed via the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The operation has removed most of the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s posts and weapons stockpiles in the region, signaling a significant—though fragile—shift in the area, the Journal reported.
Israeli and American officials, along with senior Arab sources, told the newspaper they were surprised by the effectiveness of Beirut’s efforts. One Israel Defense Forces official noted the Lebanese Army is performing “way more effectively than expected,” calling the trend encouraging.
The disarmament push follows a ceasefire agreement reached between Jerusalem and Beirut in November, after weeks of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ceasefire terms require Hezbollah to vacate all areas south of the Litani River. Lebanese forces have since moved into these former strongholds, seizing or repurposing weaponry and consolidating control over key access points, including approaches to Beirut’s airport.
Striking Lebanon
Indeed, Israel’s military announced on Thursday afternoon that an Israel Air Force aircraft struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon.
The terrorist was rehabilitating a site that Hezbollah used to manage its fire and defense array. The activity at the site constitutes a blatant violation of the understanding between Israel and Lebanon, the statement read.
The IDF struck the site several times over the past few weeks, and reiterated it would prevent any Hezbollah attempt to reestablish its terrorism capabilities.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said about 80% of the government’s disarmament goals in the south have been achieved. “The state should have a monopoly on arms,” he told the Journal, emphasizing that Lebanon would not slide back into civil war but remains determined to reassert authority nationwide.
While Hezbollah appears to be cooperating in the south—possibly to curry favor with Western and Gulf donors—its broader commitment to disarmament remains in doubt.
The group, formed in 1982, during Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, still commands one of the most powerful nonstate arsenals in the world. Its influence, especially in Shia-majority areas, has historically overshadowed Lebanon’s weak state institutions.
The next challenge
Analysts say the government’s next challenge lies in extending disarmament to Palestinian terrorist factions in Lebanon’s densely packed refugee camps and curbing Hezbollah’s influence in areas north of the Litani. In April, Lebanese security forces arrested members of a Palestinian group responsible for firing rockets into Israel, a rare move that suggests broader ambitions.
Randa Slim, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), warned that unless Hezbollah agrees to disarm voluntarily, the state is unlikely to challenge it by force. She suggested linking reconstruction aid to disarmament to raise pressure on the group.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and covert operations continue targeting Hezbollah across Lebanon, post-ceasefire. The damage—including the killing of top commanders and major weapons losses—has dented Hezbollah’s domestic standing.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Mousawi defended the group’s remaining arms as essential for Lebanon’s defense. Observers warn that any push to disarm Hezbollah beyond the south could reignite sectarian violence.
Israel’s military, meanwhile, is marking a significant transition of its own. After 20 months of continuous combat operations, the IDF’s 146th Division, a reserve unit also known as the Bang Formation, has completed its mission in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. The 91st Division, a territorial unit also known as the Galilee Formation, is resuming responsibility for security along the entire border with Lebanon.
The 146th Division, along with its reserve brigades, had defended the Western Galilee’s border communities and carried out offensive operations inside Lebanon under “Operation Northern Arrows.” Working in close cooperation with the Israeli Navy, the division played a key role in reshaping the security landscape to enable the return of displaced Israeli civilians to the north.
“You played a central role in fundamentally transforming the security reality, in bringing about the decisive defeat of Hezbollah … and in removing the threat from the residents of the north,” OC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin told the division’s soldiers.