Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has brought reinforcements and weapons to the south of the country since the start of the war with Israel on March 2, the organization’s director of media relations said on Friday.
The Lebanese army said in January it had completed disarming the group near the Israeli border in southern Lebanon, the scene of numerous wars between Israel and Hezbollah, the latest of which was halted on April 17 by a TRUCE.
The military had approved a plan it had drawn up following a 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war between the two.
Speaking during an interview with a group of journalists, including AFP, Youssef Al Zein said the group had been able to “insert forces and weapons during the battle” with Israel.
Zein said the reinforcements did not use roads controlled by the Lebanese army.
“We are convinced that the army is a national army” that “will not enter into a confrontation with Hezbollah,” he said.
He said that if Israel had been able to penetrate deeper into Lebanese territory, it was because Hezbollah had been disarmed south of the Litani River, which runs about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and its infrastructure there, including tunnels, had been destroyed.
However, he insisted that Hezbollah was able to “rebuild its forces” after the recent war with Israel and that it was “prepared for a long battle”.
Israel announced on April 7 that it had ended the deployment of its ground forces in southern Lebanon and would maintain a “security zone” 10 kilometers deep.
The need to weaken Hezbollah
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to Greece, Noam Katz, He stressed the need to support Lebanon’s legitimate government, which, he said, “certainly” has the will to bring Hezbollah under control.
“There is a need to strengthen this Lebanese government and make it more capable,” he noted.
At the same time, Katz emphasized that the other side of the equation is weakening Hezbollah by reducing its military power, something Israel is actively doing, he said.
He also noted the importance of severing the link between Iran and Hezbollah, including Tehran’s ability to secure the resources that have allowed the group to grow so strong.
Finally, the diplomat underlined the need to foster conditions within Lebanon in which the Shia community sees the Lebanese government, not Hezbollah, as responsible for their well-being and future.
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