January 08, 2026

Lebanon Is Disarming Hezbollah. The U.S. and Israel Can Do More to Help.

By: Elisa Catalano Ewers

This article was originally published in Foreign Policy.

The Lebanese government is now at a pivotal point in its vital efforts to disarm Hezbollah and reassert full authority over the country. In the face of considerable international skepticism, the government has completed phase one of a projected five phase disarmament process. This plan, adopted by the Lebanese government on Sept. 5, 2025, foresees eventual disarmament of Hezbollah across the country, beginning with the area south of the Litani River to the Israeli border and then proceeding north and east.

According to U.S. military sources, for the first time in 40 years, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have gained operational control south of the Litani River, clearing large swaths of the area with increased deployments of more than 9,000 soldiers. The government has also secured its authority over the Beirut airport, once a key Hezbollah-controlled smuggling hub. The LAF is responding to requests for action daily via a U.S.-led mechanism that was established to monitor, verify, and assist with cease-fire enforcement. By mid-October, the LAF had removed nearly 10,000 rockets and 400 missiles. Recently, it has overcome its previous unwillingness to search private property, entering several private homes to search for weapons, following Israeli allegations of weapons storage.

Hezbollah’s unraveling has upended a decades-old status quo that allowed the nonstate actor to assert its power over the Lebanese government, trampling sovereign decisions of war and peace.

Hezbollah’s unraveling has upended a decades-old status quo that allowed the nonstate actor to assert its power over the Lebanese government, trampling sovereign decisions of war and peace. However, if momentum behind the current U.S.-brokered cease-fire falters, it could thrust Israel and Lebanon back into conflict and erode fragile stability gains across the Levant. Our recent trip to Lebanon reaffirmed our belief that the country has a generational opportunity for the reform-minded Lebanese government to reassert state authority and institute systemic reforms.

Yet this window is rapidly closing amidst the potential for a renewed Israeli offensive, stalled domestic reforms, and the Lebanese people’s rapid loss of hope.

Read the full article in Foreign Policy.

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