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US, Israel Pressure Lebanon as Hezbollah Rebuilds Military Arsenal, Risk of Renewed Conflict Looms
Lebanese army members and residents inspect damage in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon, Feb. 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
With Hezbollah reportedly rebuilding its military arsenal, the United States and Israel are intensifying pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm the terrorist group and establish a state monopoly on weapons, as tensions rise along Lebanon’s southern border and the risk of renewed conflict grows.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that it killed two Hezbollah operatives in separate precision strikes in southern Lebanon. The announcement came one day after the Israeli military said in a statement that it had eliminated four members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.
Last week, Israel launched airstrikes targeting Hezbollah terrorists and operatives responsible for the Islamist group’s logistical network in Lebanon, claiming they were working to rebuild Iran-backed Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Hezbollah was seeking to rearm and that Israel would exercise its right to self-defense under last year’s ceasefire accord if Lebanon, which borders the Jewish state to the north, failed to disarm the Lebanese terrorist group.
“Hezbollah is constantly taking hits, but it’s also trying to rearm and recuperate,” Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting,
“We expect the Lebanese government to uphold its commitments, namely, to disarm Hezbollah. But it’s clear that we’ll exercise our right to self-defense as stipulated in the ceasefire terms,” he said. “We won’t let Lebanon become a renewed front against us, and we’ll do what’s necessary.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israeli Katz expressed similar sentiments, specifically calling out Lebanon’s president.
“Hezbollah is playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet,” Katz said in a statement. “The Lebanese government’s commitment to disarm Hezbollah and remove it from southern Lebanon must be implemented. Maximum enforcement will continue and even intensify – we will not allow any threat to the residents of the north.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun last week ordered the army to confront IDF incursions along the southern border, after accusing Israel of hindering prospects for negotiations by escalating its military operations inside the country.
“Lebanon is ready for negotiations to end the Israeli occupation, but any negotiation … requires mutual willingness, which is not the case,” Aoun said Friday during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Beirut.
Israel “is responding to this option by carrying out more attacks against Lebanon … and intensifying tensions,” the Lebanese leader continued.
According to Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, US and Israeli officials have sent a clear message: if Lebanon fails to properly implement the ceasefire agreement and take stronger action to disarm the Iran-backed terrorist group by the end of the year, Israel will continue to step up its operations along the southern border.
“Lebanon prefers to avoid confronting Hezbollah — essentially, it would rather let Israel do the job than have the Lebanese army face the group directly,” Ghaddar told The Algemeiner.
She explained that the Lebanese government has reportedly considered a plan to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River, located roughly 15 miles from the Israeli border, and contain it to northern areas, but noted that such an approach is unlikely to succeed, as Israel will not tolerate the terrorist group’s presence anywhere in the country.
An Israeli official told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel on Sunday that there are “serious estimations” Hezbollah is rebuilding its military capabilities and has smuggled hundreds of short-range missiles from Syria.
“Israel has relayed a message to the Lebanese side that it might again bomb Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah is not disarmed,” the official told Al Arabiya. “We will not allow the rebuilding of the Lebanese villages that lie directly on the northern border.”
The Israeli added that the IDF will continue occupying five Lebanese hilltop locations and has no plans to withdraw in the “foreseeable future.”
Amid rising tensions and increasing chances of renewed conflict with Jerusalem, new reports indicate that Hezbollah has been actively rebuilding its military capabilities, in violation of last year’s ceasefire agreement with the Jewish state.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hezbollah is restocking rockets, anti-tank missiles, and artillery, effectively rebuilding its armaments and battered ranks.
With support from Iran, Hezbollah is intensifying efforts to bolster its military power, including the production and repair of weapons, smuggling of arms and cash through seaports and Syrian routes, recruitment and training, and the use of civilian infrastructure as a base and cover for its operations.
“The Iranians are much more involved in Lebanon today since Nasrallah was killed, because there is no clear leadership,” Ghaddar told The Algemeiner, referring to Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed during last year’s war with Israel.
“It’s more of an Iranian occupation now, not just a proxy influence,” she continued. “The stronger Hezbollah becomes, the weaker Lebanon gets, and the prospects for disarmament and peace will continue to diminish.”
At a conference in Bahrain on Saturday, US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack warned that Hezbollah maintains an estimated 40,000 fighters in the country, along with 15,000 to 20,000 rockets and missiles. He also described Lebanon as a “failed state” and said it probably won’t be able to comply with the US demand that it disarms Hezbollah.
In recent weeks, Israel has conducted strikes targeting Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts, particularly south of the Litani River, where the group’s operatives have historically been most active against the Jewish state.
For years, Israel has demanded that Hezbollah be barred from carrying out activities south of the Litani.
According to Ghaddar, Jerusalem is considering further escalation in Lebanon, but what form that might take remains unclear.
She explained that a new conflict could involve continued strikes against Hezbollah’s arsenal and personnel, or expand to residential areas where the group is hiding strategic weapons.
“Israel has more opportunity to act now because Hezbollah is at its weakest. The terror group is trying to rearm but hasn’t succeeded yet,” Ghaddar told The Algemeiner. “If Israel waits, Hezbollah will only grow stronger.”
Even though the US is giving the Lebanese army until the end of the year to finish operations south of the Litani River and begin moving north, Ghaddar warned that if the government does not start the second phase immediately, Washington could give Israel the green light to take military action.
For the Lebanese government, the challenge is not just stepping up efforts to meet the ceasefire deadline to disarm Hezbollah but also preventing the country from plunging into a civil war.
Hezbollah has repeatedly defied international calls to disarm, even threatening protests and civil unrest if the government tries to enforce control over its weapons.
Last week, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem once again refused to lay down the group’s arms, insisting that its military arsenal is a “legitimate tool for resisting Israel’s occupation and threats.”
Earlier this year, Lebanese officials agreed to a US-backed disarmament plan, which called for the terrorist group to be fully disarmed within four months — by November — in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from the five occupied positions in the country’s southern region.
According to Ghaddar, the main problem is that the Lebanese forces’ plan to disarm Hezbollah lacks a clear timeline.
So far, they have only set a deadline to complete operations south of the Litani River by the end of the year, with the next phase moving north of the river and eventually covering the rest of the country.
“It is definitely unrealistic for the Lebanese army to achieve full disarmament by the end of the year,” Ghaddar said, noting that the subsequent phases, for which they refuse to provide a timeline, could take months or even years.
“The goal should be to reach a better agreement now. The ceasefire was a good start, but it lacked a clear timeline, and Hezbollah is using this period to rearm and rebuild itself militarily, financially, and politically,” she continued.
Ghaddar also said any new agreement should require Lebanon to engage in direct peace negotiations in order to politically weaken Hezbollah and secure an end to the conflict through a negotiated settlement.
In these efforts, she argued that the US could play a central role by pressuring the Lebanese government through sanctions, intensified diplomatic efforts, and conditional support for the Lebanese army to ensure meaningful progress.
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Staunch Israel critic and Gaza trauma surgeon Adam Hamawy wins NJ-12 primary
(JTA) — Adam Hamawy, the staunch Israel critic who served as a trauma surgeon in Gaza, is expected to join Congress after winning the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th district on Tuesday.
The political novice held a 12-point margin ahead of second-place candidate Brad Cohen with 86% of the vote in, even as he faced questions over his past ties to Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” convicted on terrorism charges in 1995. Hamawy’s camp had called the questions “gross and bigoted” and said the attacks against him were “getting more desperate than ever.”
At a time when Israel is becoming increasingly unpopular among Democratic voters, Hamawy’s victory makes him the latest in a string of vocally pro-Palestinian progressives to win Democratic elections in blue districts in this year’s midterms, following fellow New Jersey candidate Analilia Mejia and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania.
“The Democratic establishment just got a wake-up call!” wrote PAL PAC, a pro-Palestinian group that had endorsed Hamawy, on X. “This victory proves what we have known all along: Standing firmly and unapologetically for Palestinian freedom is a WINNING platform.”
Hamawy, who is credited with having saved Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s life during the Iraq War, was also boosted by $2 million in spending by American Priorities, a super PAC that aims to counterweight the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC by installing pro-Palestinian progressives in Congress. He was endorsed by a slew of left-wing politicians and campaigned alongside the streamer Hasan Piker, who’s been accused of antisemitic rhetoric. He is set to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is retiring at the end of her term.
As an opponent of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and a supporter of a complete arms embargo and the right of return for Palestinian refugees, Hamawy will become one of Congress’ sharpest Israel critics if he wins November’s general election, which he is expected to do in the deep-blue district.
Hamawy said that he finds antisemitism “abhorrent” and that he is “deeply worried about its continued rise” in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last week.
“As a Muslim, I understand what it feels like to face bigotry, to feel unsafe in your community and to have your loyalty to this country questioned,” Hamawy said. “In this country, we have seen recent attacks at both synagogues and mosques. I see our safety as intertwined.”
Asked about Jewish constituents who disagree with his stance on Israel, Hamawy told JTA, “I hope we can still connect on shared values and goals, including peace, justice, safety and dignity.” He added that his door “will always be open.”
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, did not mention Hamawy’s pro-Palestinian advocacy in a statement congratulating him on his win.
“As a veteran, combat surgeon, and small business owner, Adam Hamawy has continually served his community and our country. He is a proven fighter for working families,” Martin said. “We look forward to welcoming him to Congress, where he will continue the fight to lower costs, expand access to healthcare, and make life more affordable for New Jersey families.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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Scott Wiener wins spot in general election for San Francisco House seat as a Jewish critic of Israel
California State Sen. Scott Wiener advanced Tuesday as the frontrunner to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Congress, in a contest closely watched in Jewish politics after Wiener called Israel’s actions in the Gaza War a genocide and called for a halt to arms sales to Israel.
Wiener, a 55-year-old progressive Democrat who is Jewish, advanced with the most votes, with 42% of the ballots with about half counted as of Wednesday morning in California’s top-two primary for the deep-blue San Francisco district Pelosi has represented for nearly four decades. In November’s general election he will face the runner-up Democrat, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who is backed by Pelosi.
In his victory speech, Wiener promised to fight the Trump administration’s “disaster of a regime” that has “commandeered this country, that is tearing down our democracy and the rule of law, that is getting us into disastrous wars.”
“I’m polite but not quiet,” he added. “I’m not going to wait my turn.”
Wiener’s possible arrival in Congress comes amid a broader reshaping of Jewish Democratic politics, as a more progressive and younger generation of Jewish candidates increasingly embraces a more critical approach toward Israel.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict became a key issue that defined his congressional campaign. In an interview with the Forward last year, after announcing his bid, Wiener said his approach reflects that of the “large majority of Democrats in Congress” who don’t want to sever ties with Israel but are critical of the policies of the right-wing government.
Wiener’s declaration in January accusing Israel of genocide caused an uproar among Jewish leaders and voters nationally and prompted his resignation as co-chair of the California Jewish Caucus.
For years, I’ve condemned Netanyahu and his extremist government and the devastation they’ve inflicted on Gaza. It’s why I’ve been clear I won’t support U.S. funding for the destruction of Palestinian communities. I’ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can’t anymore. pic.twitter.com/71nIt6K527
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 11, 2026
Wiener had already positioned himself as a progressive on Israel. He was an early supporter of a bilateral ceasefire, called the war “indefensible” and said he would back congressional measures to halt the sale of offensive weapons to Israel. But his declaration of genocide came under duress, after he faced widespread backlash from progressive voters when he refused during a candidate debate to say whether or not he believed Israel was committing genocide.
The episode reflected both the political pressures facing Jewish members of Congress and the changing landscape of Democratic leadership.
Wiener is running in the company of Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts; Brad Lander, running against Rep. Dan Goldman in New York; and Daniel Biss, the Democratic nominee for the Illinois seat represented by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky, all of whom promised not to take contributions from the Israeli government-allied American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
These Jewish candidates remain supportive of Israel’s existence and reject efforts to isolate the Jewish state. But they are now more willing to embrace language that would have been politically unthinkable for mainstream Jewish elected officials just a decade ago, when figures such as retiring congressman Jerry Nadler and the late Reps. Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel, all of New York, were the faces of progressive Jewish politics. Pelosi, who often spoke of her pride in her Jewish grandchildren and her father’s early support for Israel’s founding, led a generation of Democrats for whom unwavering pro-Israel support was a given.
Wiener’s election would signal the start of a new era. Notably absent from Wiener’s remarks on Tuesday were references to Israel, antisemitism or his Jewish identity.
Other California races
Other high-profile California races saw progressive candidates outside the bubble as centrist and conservative candidates advanced in open primaries where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.
In Los Angeles, with about half of votes counted, Republican ex-reality TV star Spencer Pratt (29.5% of the vote) appears poised to advance to the general election, along with incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass (36.5%). Nithya Raman — a democratic socialist who once won a pro-Israel endorsement — lags well behind them with about half the votes counted. Billionaire Democrat (and former synagogue president) Adam Miller was a distant fourth, with 4% of the vote.
And with a slew of Democrats splitting votes in the governor’s race, Republican talk show host Steve Hilton led all candidates with 27% of the vote, closely trailed by Xavier Becerra (26%), who was the health and human services secretary under President Joe Biden. Billionaire progressive Tom Steyer had just under 20% of the vote with about half of the votes counted.
Rep. Brad Sherman of Los Angeles will advance to the general election, staving off a challenge from fellow Democrat Jake Levine, a former Biden administration official.
Rep. Ro Khanna had 57% of the vote in his Silicon Valley district, meaning he will most likely win the office without a runoff. Khanna is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel in Congress.
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At the Vatican with Chicago’s mayor, a rabbi gave Pope Leo a White Sox kippah
(JTA) — Lizzi Heydemann didn’t plan what she was going to say to Pope Leo XIV.
But when the Chicago rabbi found herself face-to-face with the new pontiff during a Vatican visit alongside a delegation of Chicago leaders, she thanked him for the way he has spoken about the war in Gaza.
“I said, you know, it’s been a hard time over these past two years to be a rabbi, but I want to thank you for, in the midst of conflict, holding the humanity of everyone involved in the conflict,” Heydemann recounted.
Leo, the first American pope and a native of Chicago’s South Side, repeatedly advocated after his election last year for the release of the Israeli hostages as well as a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, which he has referred to as “vengeance” and “barbarity.” The comments angered some Jewish leaders who have interpreted them as unfairly targeting Israel, but for others including Heydemann, they have offered a template for how to criticize the war.
“You may be anti-war, but I do not hear you denouncing or degrading people,” Heydemann said she told Leo. “Thank you for holding the humanity of Israelis and Palestinians in the same breath and the same thought. It’s not something that is modeled very often.”
She added, “He seemed grateful, and like he knew exactly what I was talking about.”
Heydemann, the founder and leader of Mishkan Chicago, an independent Jewish spiritual community, had been invited by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to join a delegation of civic, business and faith leaders traveling to Rome last week. (Johnson has been a vocal critic of Israel who has drawn criticism himself from some Jewish leaders in Chicago.) She said she was the only rabbi to take part in the trip.
As she waited for the pope to enter a room where the delegation was assembled on Thursday, Heydemann said she began weeping.
“What I reflected on is that he, maybe more than anyone in the world, is a religious leader with the world’s eyes on him,” Heydemann said. “He is beloved and critiqued constantly, and every rabbi in America has had a little taste over the last few years of that weight.”
While the interaction carried an unexpected emotional weight for Heydemann, it also came with a distinctive Jewish Chicago touch: a White Sox-themed kippah.
She said she included the kippah, which featured the Chicago White Sox logo on the exterior as well as a pomegranate on the inside, in a chest of Chicago-themed gifts presented to the pope on Thursday during the visit as a nod to his lifelong devotion to the baseball team.
“We thought that would be a sweet point connection between me and the pope,” Heydemann said, adding that the pontiff’s typical white zucchetto looks “awfully like a kippah.”
“It brings us all joy to imagine that after a long day at work wearing the cream-colored one that matches his robes, maybe at the end of the day he’ll switch it out for a jersey material, White Sox kippah, and thinks fondly of sweet home Chicago, and the Jewish spiritual community gave it to him,” Heydemann added.
A list of gifts that circulated in local media included another piece of Jewish paraphernalia: a tote bag with the words “Resisting tyrants since Pharaoh.” That’s a catchphrase from T’ruah, the rabbinic human rights group where Heydemann has been on the board. But the rabbi said the inclusion was an error: She was carrying the bag, not giving it to Leo.
Looking back on the meeting with the pope, Heydemann said her experience reflected a broader conviction about “building bridges, even in the presence of difference.”
“There’s too much at stake in our world for us to not be continuing to be in relationship with one another in the presence of differences,” Heydemann said.
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