Beirut, Lebanon \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>At the end of last year, Lebanon\u2019s army first took journalists and then international diplomats on tours that were meant to show what had been achieved in terms of dismantling Hezbollah\u2019s military infrastructure along the country\u2019s southern border with Israel.<\/p>\n At the time, Israel was increasing threats to expand its attacks if Lebanon failed to disarm Hezbollah.<\/p>\n The end of 2025 was the army\u2019s self-imposed deadline to complete the\u00a0first phase<\/a>\u00a0of its plan to bring all weapons in the country under state control.<\/p>\n Army commander Rodolphe Haykal said the tours were intended to highlight the army\u2019s commitment to the efforts despite \u201cits limited capabilities\u201d. But he blamed Israel\u2019s\u00a0continued military actions<\/a>\u00a0and occupation of Lebanese territory along the border as complicating and undermining these efforts.<\/p>\n On January 8, Haykal will brief Lebanon\u2019s government on the\u00a0progress<\/a>\u00a0of the disarming mission. He\u2019s expected to announce the completion of the plan\u2019s first phase, which involves clearing the area between the Litani River, about 30km (19 miles) at its deepest point in Lebanon, and the country\u2019s southern border with Israel.<\/p>\n But Israel already has a verdict on the army\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n It says Hezbollah still has a presence close to the border and is rebuilding its military capabilities \u201cfaster than the army is dismantling [them]\u201d. The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has a different take. It says there is \u201cno evidence\u201d that Hezbollah\u2019s infrastructure has been rebuilt.<\/p>\n Israel also sent another message through its military actions days before the cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n It carried out intense air strikes on what it said were positions north of the Litani River some kilometres (miles) from the border in what a western diplomat said showed \u201cIsrael has no intention to wait for the army to move to the next phase to dismantle Hezbollah\u2019s weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael has already shifted focus to phase two,\u201d Joe Macaron, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera. \u201cAnd this phase is going to be different, difficult and challenging for the army.\u201d<\/p>\n The second phase involves operations expanding north of the Litani River up to the Awali River north of the city of Sidon. \u201cHezbollah has made it clear there will be no disarmament north of the Litani, which means there is the possibility of political tension,\u201d Macaron added.<\/p>\n Hezbollah, which has dismissed efforts to disarm it as a United States-Israeli plan, believes it has complied with a ceasefire agreement agreed with Israel because it understands the truce to apply \u201cexclusively south of the Litani River\u201d.<\/p>\n The November 2024 truce ended more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The group\u2019s critics in Lebanon say the ceasefire calls for the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which mentions the disarmament of all non-state actors across Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Israeli enemy not implementing any of the steps of the agreement \u2026 Lebanon is no longer required to take any action on any level before the Israelis commit to what they are obligated to do,\u201d Hezbollah\u2019s Secretary-General Naim Qassem said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hezbollah was long considered the strongest military force in Lebanon, although it has been weakened by the war with Israel, when much of its leadership was killed.<\/p>\n The group retains the support of Lebanon\u2019s Shia community, which it emerged from.<\/p>\n \u201cAssuming the Lebanese state and the army commander would try to disarm Hezbollah north of the Litani, Hezbollah and also the majority of the Shia community is going to rise and try to prevent this. They will act and there will be a violent reaction if that scenario will happen,\u201d Ali Rizk, a political and security analyst, told Al Jazeera. \u201cThe community feels they are facing a twin threat \u2026 one from Israel and the other from the\u00a0new regime in Syria<\/a>, so that is why they are more supportive of Hezbollah\u2019s weapons.\u201d<\/p>\nLitani River<\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/div>\nPolitical consensus<\/h2>\n
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