Lebanon’s military says it has completed the first phase of a government plan to fully deploy across southern Lebanon and disarm non-state armed groups, a move that directly impacts Hezbollah’s long-standing presence in the border region. The announcement comes as President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam prepare to review the next steps of the programme, which has been a priority since they took office after the Washington-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2024 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The army says it now has operational control over Lebanese territory south of the Litani river, except for five Israeli military positions inside Lebanon. It has not declared full disarmament in the area, saying “work in the sector is still ongoing,” but adds it is ready to move to the next stages of the Homeland Shield plan.
Israel has called the development encouraging but “far from sufficient,” saying Hezbollah still maintains dozens of compounds and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The deployment is seen as one of the most significant recent efforts to reshape the security landscape of southern Lebanon and reinforce the authority of the Lebanese state in a region that remains volatile across West Asia.
