The Trump administration is increasing pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm the Iran-backed terrorist movement, with a senior US official calling Lebanon a “failed state” for its inaction.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack, who also serves as envoy to Syria, said in Bahrain on Saturday that Lebanon is a “failed state” because of its “paralyzed government,” The Associated Press reported. He also noted that Hezbollah has 40,000 fighters and between 15,000 and 20,000 missiles and rockets in its possession, noting that the terror group pays its militia $2,200 a month, while the Lebanese Forces soldiers earn $275 a month and also have inferior equipment.
The US brokered a ceasefire between the US-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and Israel in November 2024. In August, the Lebanese government accepted a US plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025.
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Tom Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria, speaks during a press conference after his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2025. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
However, according to Israeli officials and leading experts from the group, Lebanon’s fragile government and army have failed to dismantle Hezbollah’s operations across the country.
Hezbollah members salute and raise the group’s yellow flags during the funeral of fallen comrades in Shehabiya in southern Lebanon on April 17, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
Zehavi, who lives in northern Israel, said the Lebanese army should go from house to house and neighborhood to neighborhood, putting weapons on trucks and publishing what has been seized.
She added that the names of the villages cleared of Hezbollah weapons should be made public. “None of that happens,” Zehavi said.
US Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said in Lebanon on Wednesday that the Lebanese army “must now fully implement its plan.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump’s Deputy Special Representative for the Middle East, at the Baabda Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on February 7, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We feel obligated to the American mechanism. We are reporting Hezbollah’s violations to the American mechanism. We have seen the Lebanese army enforcing the ceasefire, but the pace is insufficient,” the security official said, adding: “We have been attacking Hezbollah terrorist operatives almost every day since the ceasefire. Many of these operatives operate from civilian areas. The IDF is putting in a lot of effort. [into] not aimed at civilian areas. We cannot tolerate Hezbollah’s attempts to rebuild its capabilities.”
Tensions rose on Wednesday as the Lebanese army condemned an Israeli attack that killed a municipal worker in the border town of Blida, calling it “a criminal act” and a violation of the ceasefire.
The IDF said its forces opened fire after identifying “an imminent threat” during an operation to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure.
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A flag with the image of slain pro-Iranian Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah flies in front of a photo of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Nasrallah’s grave in Beirut, Lebanon, September 27, 2025. (Marwan Naamani/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun ordered the army on Thursday to confront any Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon, after Israeli forces crossed the border overnight and killed a municipal worker despite a US-brokered ceasefire.
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has historically remained on the sidelines of major conflicts with Israel, and has not engaged with its military in recent months. According to a witness, Israeli warplanes flew over the presidential palace in Beirut shortly after Aoun’s first order for the army to attack Israeli forces since he became president in January.
A convoy of United Nations vehicles passes through the Marjayoun area of southern Lebanon on December 4, 2024, during a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP via Getty Images)
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) condemned the Israeli attack, calling it “a blatant violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and the sovereignty of Lebanon.”
The Israeli government security official stressed: “We rely on the ceasefire. We have shared interests with the State of Lebanon and common interests to disarm Hezbollah. Our responsibility is first and foremost to Israel. We have citizens who have returned to the north and must guarantee their safety.”
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UNIFIL was ordered before October 7 to help the Lebanese army disarm Hezbollah and set up military outposts on the border with Israel. Israeli officials have long argued that UNIFIL has failed miserably.
An IDF soldier is photographed near anti-tank missiles belonging to the terrorist group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. (IDF)
Media outlets reported that a French unit of UNIFIL shot down an Israeli drone this week. The UNIFIL spokesperson said: “Normally we do not name the unit involved.”
US envoy nears ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel that would disarm terror group Hezbolah
Walid Phares, an American academic expert on Hezbollah and Lebanon who has advised American presidential candidates, has analyzed moves among Lebanese citizens to forge diplomatic ties with Israel.
He added: “Many Lebanese have witnessed Hezbollah’s defeat in the confrontation with Israel, dispelling the long-standing idea – promoted by Hezbollah – that the country is invincible. However, despite this military setback, the militia in Lebanon shows no intention of giving up its weapons. Hezbollah remains determined to maintain control of Lebanon and oppress other communities. In addition, the group continues to receive directives from the Islamic Republic of Iran to endure the current conditions and prepare for the future. conflict.
“As a result, an increasing number of Lebanese are calling on their government to initiate a dialogue with Israeli leaders, hoping that such a move would enlist US support to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah.”
An Israeli soldier walks past a tunnel entrance near a United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) observation post in the southern Lebanese village of Naqoura along the border with Israel. (Ilia Yefimovich/photo alliance via Getty Images)
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