Israel says Hezbollah trying to rebuild, smuggle in arms from Syria

The Israeli military accused Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Tuesday of seeking to rebuild its combat abilities in south Lebanon to the point of threatening Israel's security and undoing last year's ceasefire deal.

Military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah was operating south of the Litani River in violation of the truce accord and that Israeli forces were conducting strikes on Hezbollah targets in that area.

Shoshani told a news briefing that Hezbollah was also trying to smuggle in weapons from Syria and via other routes to Lebanon. "We are working to prevent that from happening and to block the ground routes from Syria into Lebanon to a high level of success, but they still pose a threat to us," Shoshani said.

"We are committed to the agreement but it must be held. We will not return to the reality of October 7 (2023) with a threat of thousands of terrorists on our border within walking distance of our civilians..."

Hezbollah denies it is rebuilding its military capabilities in south Lebanon, saying it is committed to the 2024 ceasefire. It has not fired at Israel since the ceasefire came into force, and Lebanese security officials told Reuters that Hezbollah has not obstructed Lebanese army operations to find and confiscate the group's weapons in the country's south.

However, Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm in full.

Israel has been pressing Lebanon's army to be more aggressive in disarming Hezbollah by searching private homes in the south for weaponry, according to Lebanese and Israeli officials.

The army is confident it can declare Lebanon's south free of Hezbollah arms by the end of 2025, but has refused to search private dwellings for fear of reigniting civil strife and derailing a disarmament strategy seen by the army as cautious but effective, Lebanese security officials told Reuters.

Hezbollah was severely weakened in a year-long war that saw an Israeli incursion into south Lebanon backed by heavy air strikes, but still wields considerable power among Shi'ites in Lebanon's fragile sectarian-based system of governance.