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Israel Pushes Lebanon Army to Search More Intrusively for Hezbollah Arms, Sources Say
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes following Israeli military’s evacuation orders, in Tayr Debba, southern Lebanon, Nov. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ali Hankir
Israel is pressing Lebanon‘s army to be more aggressive in disarming the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah by searching private homes in the south for weaponry, three Lebanese security officials and two Israeli officials have said.
The demand has emerged in recent weeks and been rejected by Lebanon‘s military leadership, who fear it would ignite civil strife and derail a disarmament strategy seen by the army as cautious but effective, the Lebanese security officials told Reuters.
The army is confident it can declare Lebanon‘s south free of Hezbollah arms by the end of 2025, in line with a truce deal that ended a devastating Israeli war with Hezbollah last year.
A sweep of valleys and forests has located more than 50 tunnels and resulted in the confiscation of over 50 guided missiles and hundreds of other weapons, according to two Lebanese civilian sources briefed on army operations.
But the army‘s plan never included searching private property, according to the Lebanese security officials. Israel doubts it will succeed without such measures.
LEBANESE AND ISRAELI ARMIES MONITOR CEASEFIRE
Two of the Lebanese security officials said Israel requested such raids in October meetings of the “Mechanism,” a US-led committee bringing together Lebanese and Israeli officers to monitor implementation of the truce.
Shortly after, Israel stepped up ground operations and air strikes in southern Lebanon, which it said were targeting attempts by Hezbollah to re-arm.
Those strikes were seen as a clear warning that failure to search more intrusively could prompt a new full-blown Israeli military campaign, the Lebanese security officials said.
“They’re demanding that we do house-to-house searches, and we won’t do that … we aren’t going to do things their way,” one of the officials said.
Hezbollah has been severely weakened by the Israeli incursion and by Israeli and US attacks on its backer Iran, but still wields enormous power among Shi’ites in Lebanon‘s fragile sectarian-based system of governance.
All the sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Lebanese army declined to comment, in line with its usual media policies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but Netanyahu said on Nov. 2: “We expect the Lebanese government to do what it committed to do, namely to disarm Hezbollah, but it is clear that we will exercise our right to self-defense as stipulated in the ceasefire conditions. We will not allow Lebanon to become a renewed front against us and will act as needed.”
LEBANON WANTS TO AVOID SHOWDOWN
Lebanon‘s army fears that residents of the south would see house raids as subservience to Israel, which occupied south Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000 before entering again last year, the Lebanese security officials said.
Beirut also worries that Israel will keep moving the goalposts, creating a permanent risk of escalatory strikes and undermining attempts to stabilize a country battered by geopolitical and economic upheavals, the security officials and a political official said.
But Israeli officials say Hezbollah is accelerating efforts to re-arm from properties in the south and further north, and that the Lebanese army is failing to confront it.
Israel passes intelligence on suspected Hezbollah depots to the Mechanism, which passes it to the Lebanese army to address. Israel has also taken direct action, notably against Hezbollah weapons transfers or when it deems Lebanese troops have not acted swiftly enough, an Israeli military official told Reuters.
The Lebanese security officials insist that new army checkpoints around the south are preventing Hezbollah from moving weapons.
Hezbollah denies it is rebuilding in the south.
It has not obstructed Lebanese army sweeps there and has not fired on Israel since last year’s ceasefire.
But it has also repeatedly refused to disarm fully. This week, it issued a public statement saying it has a “legitimate right” to defend Lebanon against Israel.
The Israeli military official said that Hezbollah wanted to remain a dominant force in Lebanon – a desire shared by Iran.
US NUDGES LEBANON TOWARD TALKS
Beirut is also being urged by the United States to establish political channels with Israel to reach a lasting ceasefire and resolve their long-standing land border dispute.
“The path … needs to be to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv for a conversation,” US envoy Thomas Barrack said at a security conference in Bahrain this month.
He suggested President Joseph Aoun “pick up the phone and call Netanyahu and say, ‘let’s end this garbage.’”
Aoun has said he is ready for talks, without saying whether he would consider direct contact. Hezbollah has rejected all negotiations, and the four Lebanese officials remained wary.
They pointed to Gaza and Syria, where Israel added last-minute conditions that halted progress towards ending conflict, and said its demand for house raids amounted to the same thing.
“The format doesn’t matter as much as the commitment,” the Lebanese political official said.
“Direct, indirect, the Mechanism, something else. Once there is Israeli commitment and US guarantees, then we can start putting the pieces on the board.”
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Katz: ‘Israel’s Goal in Lebanon is to Disarm Hezbollah’
Then-Israeli transportation minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 17, 2019. Katz currently serves as the foreign minister. Photo: Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz held a situation assessment Friday with senior military and defense officials, reiterating that the country’s policy in Lebanon remains focused on disarming Hezbollah by military and political means. Katz emphasized that the goal applies “regardless of the Iran issue” and pledged continued protection for Israeli northern communities.
Katz said the Israel Defense Forces are completing ground maneuvers up to the anti-tank line to prevent direct threats to border towns. He outlined plans to demolish houses in villages near the border that serve as Hezbollah outposts, citing previous operations in Rafah and Khan Yunis in Gaza as models.
The Defense Minister added that the IDF will maintain security control over the Litani area and that the return of 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon who had evacuated north will not be permitted until northern communities’ safety is ensured. Katz also reaffirmed that the IDF will continue targeting Hezbollah leaders and operatives across Lebanon, noting that 1,000 terrorists have already been eliminated since the start of the current campaign.
“We promised security to the northern towns, and that is exactly what we will do,” Katz said. He further warned that the IDF will act decisively against rocket fire from Lebanon, stating that Hezbollah “will pay heavy prices.”
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Pope Leo Urges Israel’s Herzog to End Iran War in Phone Call, Vatican Says
Pope Leo XIV delivers a homily during the Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican, March 29, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Leo spoke on the phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Friday and urged him to “reopen all paths of dialogue” to end the Iran war, the Vatican said.
The pope, who has emerged as a sharp critic of the regional conflict, also urged Herzog to protect civilians and promote respect for international and humanitarian law, the Vatican added.
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Iran Leaders Join Crowds on Tehran’s Streets to Project Control in Wartime
Iranians gather at a park on Nature Day, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 2, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
After more than a month of being stalked by targeted assassinations, Iran’s leadership has adopted a new tactic to show it is still in control – with senior officials walking openly in the streets among small crowds who have gathered in support of the Islamic Republic.
In recent days, Iran’s president and foreign minister have separately mixed with groups of several hundred people in central Tehran. On Tuesday, state television aired footage of the two posing for selfies, talking to members of the public and shaking hands with supporters who had gathered in public areas.
According to insiders and analysts, the appearances are part of a calculated effort by Iran’s theocratic leadership to project resilience and authority — not only over the vital Strait of Hormuz but also over the population — despite a sustained US-Israeli campaign aimed at “obliterating” it.
One insider close to the hardline establishment said such public outings are intended to show that the Islamic Republic is “unshaken by strikes and that it remains in control and vigilant” as the war grinds on.
The US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28 with the killing of veteran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders in waves of strikes that have since continued to target top officials.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since taking over on March 8 from his father. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, meanwhile, was removed from Israel’s hit list amid mediation efforts last month, including by Pakistan, to bring Tehran and Washington together for talks to end the war.
Talks aimed at ending the war have since appeared to have petered out, as Tehran brands US peace proposals “unrealistic.” Against that backdrop, recent public appearances by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Araqchi appear designed to project defiance, if not a convincing display of public support.
A senior Iranian source said officials’ public presence demonstrates that “the establishment is not intimidated by Israel’s targeted killing of top Iranian figures.”
Asked whether Iran’s foreign minister or president were on any sort of kill list, an Israeli military spokesperson, Nadav Shoshani, said on Friday he would not “speak about specific personnel.”
NIGHTLY RALLIES TO SHOW RESILIENCE
Despite widespread destruction, Tehran appears emboldened by surviving weeks of intense US-Israeli attacks, firing on Gulf countries hosting US troops and demonstrating its ability to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, without offering a timeline for ending hostilities. Tehran responded by warning the United States and Israel that “more crushing, broader and more destructive” attacks were in store.
Encouraged by clerical rulers, supporters of the Islamic Republic take to the streets each night, filling public squares to show loyalty even as bombs rain down across the country.
Analysts say the establishment is also seeking to raise the “political and reputational” cost of the strikes at a time when civilian casualties are deeply disturbing for Iranians.
Omid Memarian, a senior Iran analyst at DAWN, a Washington-based think tank, said the decision to send officials into gatherings reflects a layered strategy, including an effort to sustain the morale of core supporters at a moment of acute pressure.
“The system relies heavily on this base; if its supporters withdraw from public space, its ability to project control and authority weakens significantly,” Memarian said.
Speaking to state television, some in the crowds voice unwavering loyalty to Iran’s leadership; others oppose the bombing of their country regardless of politics; and some have a stake in the system, including government employees, students and others whose livelihoods are tied to it.
Hadi Ghaemi, head of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said the establishment is using such loyal crowds as human shields to raise the cost of any assassination attempts.
“By being in the middle of large crowds they have protections that would make Israeli-American attacks against them very bloody and generate sympathy worldwide,” he said.
POTENTIAL PROTESTERS STAY OFF STREETS AT NIGHT
The Islamic Republic emerged from a 1979 revolution backed by millions of Iranians. But decades of rule marked by corruption, repression and mismanagement have thinned that support, alienating many ordinary people.
While there has been little sign so far of anti-government protests that erupted in January and abated after a deadly crackdown, the establishment has adopted harsh measures – such as arrests, executions and large-scale deployment of security forces – to prevent any sparks of dissent.
Rights groups have warned about “rushed executions” during wartime after Iran hanged at least seven political prisoners during the war.
“Many potential protesters are frightened by the continuing presence of armed men and violent crowds in the streets and largely stay at home once darkness falls,” Ghaemi said.