BEIRUT: The Lebanese army on Thursday said it had achieved a state monopoly on arms in southern Lebanon in what it described as an “effective and tangible” manner, while noting that additional work was needed to remove unexploded ordnance and dismantle tunnels.
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The military had set a year-end target to clear non-state weaponry from the south, which borders Israel, before expanding its operations to other parts of the country. It added that it now had operational control over the region, except for pockets still occupied by Israeli forces.
The statement did not explicitly mention Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese armed group that fought a year-long conflict with Israel before a 2024 ceasefire brokered by Washington. That agreement underscored that only Lebanese state security institutions were permitted to carry arms.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters that the latest announcement signalled that no armed group would be able to launch attacks from the south, marking a shift in how territory along the border is managed.
Beirut has faced sustained pressure from the United States and Israel to disarm Hezbollah and reassert state authority. Israeli officials have warned that a failure to do so could prompt expanded military action across Lebanon.
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Israel and Lebanon reached a US-mediated ceasefire in 2024 that brought an end to more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, during which Israeli strikes significantly degraded the capabilities of the Iran-backed group. Since then, the two sides have traded accusations of violating the terms of the truce.