Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have done what too many of their predecessors refused to do: openly accuse Hezbollah of dragging Lebanon into repeated wars and holding the state’s sovereignty hostage. Their demand is direct and non-negotiable: the Lebanese state must establish a monopoly on weapons. Hezbollah’s response has been equally direct — threats, venom, and the unmistakable signal that political assassination remains an available instrument of coercion.

This is not ordinary political friction. It is a confrontation with an Iranian-backed terrorist organization that, for decades, has treated Lebanon less as a sovereign homeland than as a forward operating platform for foreign strategic interests.

The escalation did not emerge in a vacuum. Hostilities reignited on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Iran only days after the start of the joint American-Israeli military offensive against the Iranian regime. Israel responded by expanding its buffer zone inside Lebanese territory and striking more than 45 Hezbollah infrastructure sites, including weapons depots, military positions, and rocket launchers. Roughly 350 Hezbollah operatives were eliminated, while more than 1,100 affiliated targets were destroyed. Israeli operations have since expanded, with forces pushing deeper into the south and reaching areas roughly 20 kilometers from Beirut.

A U.S.-backed ceasefire has reduced large-scale exchanges, and the third round........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)