Israel Urges Lebanese Soldiers To Be Aggressive In Little Hezbollah Weapons

JAKARTA - Israel urged Lebanese soldiers to be more aggressive in arming the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli forces searched private homes in the south to look for weapons.

The demands have surfaced in recent weeks and have been rejected by Lebanese military leaders, who fear it will trigger civil conflict and thwart a weapons-cutting strategy that the military considers a careful but effective move.

The military believes it can declare southern Lebanon free from Hezbollah's weapons by the end of 2025, in line with a ceasefire deal that ended last year's devastating Israeli-Hezbollah war.

Sweeping valleys and forests found more than 50 tunnels and resulted in the seizure of more than 50 guided missiles and hundreds of other weapons, according to two Lebanese civilian sources briefed on military operations.

However, the military plan never includes a search of private property, according to Lebanese security officials. Israel doubts it will succeed without these measures.

As reported by Reuters, two Lebanese security officials said Israel requested such raids at a "Mechanism" meeting in October, a US-led committee bringing together Lebanese and Israeli officers to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire.

Shortly thereafter, Israel stepped up ground operations and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, which it said targeted Hezbollah's efforts to re-armed.

The attacks were seen as a clear warning of the failure to conduct a more intrusive search could trigger a new and massive Israeli military operation, Lebanese security officials said.

"They demand us to search from house to house, and we will not do that ... we will not do things in their way," said one official.

Hezbollah has been severely weakened by Israeli attacks and by Israeli and US attacks on its backer, Iran, but still holds enormous power among Shiites in the fragile and sectarian-based Lebanese government system.

All sources refused to be named because of the sensitivity of this problem.

The Lebanese military declined to comment, in line with their usual media policy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request for comment, but Netanyahu said on November 2: "We hope the Lebanese government will do what it promises, namely to remove Hezbollah's weapons, but obviously we will use our right to defend ourselves as stated in the terms of the ceasefire. We will not allow Lebanon to become a new front against us and will act as needed."