A Bloody Cease-Fire: How Israel Keeps Hezbollah Out of Southern Lebanon

The warm wind blows intensely at the top of a hill in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has built an army base overlooking Lebanese villages.The base, called Hamamish, is one of five strategic positions on the Israeli-Lebanese border where IDF soldiers have been stationed permanently since the cease-fire in November, which ended 13 months of war.“This is really what we call a quick, temporary setup. It serves as an advanced defensive position to enhance our capability to defend the Israeli communities,” an Israeli military official told The New York Sun, pointing toward the Israeli border town of Metula, just a few kilometers away.The IDF’s mission in southern Lebanon is clear: to prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing itself near the border.Yet despite the agreement’s explicit requirement that Hezbollah be disarmed and removed from south of the Litani River, the group has consistently violated the terms.The Israeli military estimates it has killed more than 250 Hezbollah members since the cease-fire took effect.At Hamamish, IDF forces killed four Hezbollah members who were using bobcats to build new infrastructure just a few hundred meters from the base.Hezbollah even raised its flag at the site — a gesture the official said was aimed more at the Lebanese army than at the IDF.The terror group has lashed out at the Lebanese government for approving an American-backed plan that would see the army take full control of the country and disarm Hezbollah.The plan also calls for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon and dismantle its five border bases, including Hamamish.On Tuesday, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, told AFP that the government would disarm Hezbollah in the south within three months, “during which the removal of weapons will be completed south of the Litani River.”“There will be no warehouses, no weapons, no weapons transfers, no fighters, and no display of arms,” he added.But Hezbollah has repeatedly refused to disarm voluntarily, even threatening that doing so could trigger another civil war.“In principle, nothing has changed, but in reality, many things have changed since October 7. The Lebanese army is active and motivated. They are truly trying to fill their role as the new sovereign force in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli official said.The official added that the Lebanese army is not attacking Hezbollah in the same way Israel does — with regular airstrikes — but is focusing on confiscating arms and blocking financing.“I’m not aware of any fights between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army. I believe I would have known about that. Instead, they are going to locations where Hezbollah stores ammunition and confiscating it. They are also putting up roadblocks and seizing money smuggled from Iran,” the official said.A Rare OpportunityOne of the IDF’s main tasks after the cease-fire was the cleanup. The army had already carried out heavy airstrikes against Hezbollah positions during the war, destroying tunnels, weapon depots, and manufacturing sites. But with a cease-fire in place and most Hezbollah fighters pushed out of the area, the IDF began going building to building in Shiite villages, dismantling the remaining Hezbollah infrastructure and confiscating large quantities of weapons.That cleanup paved the way for the weaker but motivated Lebanese army to continue the job across the country.“I think the Lebanese army has a unique opportunity to regain sovereignty in Lebanon because of the special situation occurring right now,” the official said.When asked if the IDF and Lebanese army coordinate against Hezbollah, the military official replied: “Unfortunately. We would love to do that. I think it would improve the situation considerably.”The IDF estimates Hezbollah is no longer capable of launching a coordinated ground offensive against Israel but could still fire drones and missiles if it chose to.The official noted that if three pickups carrying 20 Hezbollah fighters each sped south from Beirut, it was “definitely possible” they could reach the border.So far, Hezbollah has refrained from direct attacks on Israel, despite the IDF striking its positions almost daily. The group’s restraint has been seen in Israel as evidence that deterrence has been restored.Still, Israel’s assertive presence in Lebanon — including a rare strike in southern Beirut in June — has drawn harsh condemnation from the Lebanese government.President Joseph Aoun described the IDF strike on drone factories in southern Beirut as a “flagrant violation of an international accord.”Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the airstrikes “constitute a systematic and deliberate attack on our homeland, its security, stability, and economy.”While Lebanon’s entry into the Abraham Accords appears distant, if not impossible, a future without Hezbollah threatening Israel’s borders may be within reach. Until then, Israeli soldiers will remain at Hamamish.

A Bloody Cease-Fire: How Israel Keeps Hezbollah Out of Southern Lebanon

A Bloody Cease-Fire: How Israel Keeps Hezbollah Out of Southern Lebanon

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