Hezbollah supporters marched in the streets of Beirut today, expressing opposition to US demands that the Lebanese government fully disarm the movement. It comes as the Lebanese cabinet is meeting to discuss possible avenues to such disarmament.
The government is reportedly keen to monopolize control of all weapons in the country, though Hezbollah has made it clear that disarming while Israel is still occupying Lebanese soil and launching near daily attacks is a non-starter, and the US has made clear they have no intention of trying to get Israel to stop attacking.
Given Hezbollah is such a substantial force and the Lebanese Army generally is not, it’s not clear how the government could impose a disarmament against their wishes. Though today’s cabinet meeting is being presented as “decisive” on the issue, Shi’ite ministers withdrew from the talks and they postponed the vote until next week.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem spoke to the crowd in Beirut, reiterating opposition to disarmament, and calling for a national consensus on resisting Israeli attacks. He added that they remain ready to defend themselves in a broad war if Israel further escalates the situation.
The Israeli invasion ended in late November with a ceasefire, though Israel never fully withdrew from the country, and has launched near daily attacks since then. Hezbollah has not fired any rockets at Israel since the ceasefire, but has reiterated a right to defend itself if the situation gets worse.
Israel launched multiple strikes against Lebanon again yesterday, with one strike later in the day against the border town of Khiam killing one person and wounding at least four others. Though details are scant on who was actually killed, the IDF has issued a statement claiming it was a Hezbollah operative.
That’s unsurprising, as to the extent the IDF comments at all on people it’s killed, they’re virtually always presented as Hezbollah, usually top leaders actively involved in operations. In practice, most of their attacks are centered on functional vehicles in the areas they once occupied and are still regularly attacking, and exactly who is operating those vehicles is never particularly certain. Only that IDF will purport them to be Hezbollah is a constant.
