Lebanon Bans Hezbollah's Military Wing
In a stunning political shift, Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has banned all military and security activities by Hezbollah. The move follows Hezbollah's participation in attacks on Israel and subsequent Israeli strikes inside Lebanon, signaling deep internal fractures over the country's role in the escalating regional war.
Hezbollah has operated as a "state within a state" for decades, providing social services, including schools and hospitals, primarily in Shiite-majority areas. Its political wing, the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, has been a powerful force in Lebanon's parliament since 1992, often holding cabinet positions. The decision to ban Hezbollah's military wing confronts years of international pressure and UN resolutions aimed at disarming the group. Specifically, UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, called for an area south of the Litani River to be free of any armed personnel other than the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. This resolution has been consistently violated, with Hezbollah's arsenal growing to an estimated 100,000 fighters and more than 150,000 missiles and rockets, many capable of precision strikes. The group's military strength is widely considered to be greater than that of the official Lebanese Army. The ban comes as Lebanon faces a catastrophic economic collapse that began in 2019. The country's GDP has shrunk dramatically, the currency has lost over 98% of its value, and more than 80% of the population now lives in poverty. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a former judge at the International Court of Justice, took office in 2025 with promises to enforce accountability and reassert state sovereignty. His government's move signals a direct challenge to Hezbollah's long-standing autonomy and its ability to independently decide on matters of war and peace for Lebanon.
