Israel signals willingness to support Lebanon in Hezbollah disarmament efforts

Israel has expressed readiness to back Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday, after Beirut’s cabinet endorsed a U.S.-brokered framework targeting the Iran-backed group.

The announcement marks one of the rare moments in which Israel has signaled alignment with an official Lebanese government position, though the two countries remain technically at war.

“Israel welcomes any genuine effort to weaken and dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “We are prepared to support Lebanon, directly or indirectly, in the implementation of the U.S. plan.”

Earlier this month, Lebanon’s cabinet approved the objectives of a U.S. initiative that seeks to disarm Hezbollah and other armed factions operating outside state authority.

The move has been hailed by Washington as a step toward strengthening Lebanese sovereignty but has also exposed deep divisions within the country’s fragile political system.

Hezbollah, widely regarded as the most powerful armed group in Lebanon, has rejected the plan, accusing the government of caving to American and Israeli pressure.
Many of the group’s allies argue that Hezbollah’s weapons serve as a deterrent against Israel and remain central to Lebanon’s defense strategy.

Analysts say that while Israel’s endorsement of the framework underscores its long-standing objective of curbing Hezbollah’s military power, practical cooperation between Jerusalem and Beirut remains highly unlikely.

“This is more a political signal than an operational offer,” said a regional security expert. “Given the hostility between the two states, any Israeli involvement would risk destabilizing Lebanon’s already fragile consensus.”

The U.S. plan, whose details have not been made public, is understood to combine security, political, and economic incentives in an attempt to gradually strip Hezbollah of its vast arsenal, estimated to include tens of thousands of rockets and drones.

International observers caution that disarmament faces formidable challenges. Hezbollah remains entrenched in Lebanese politics, commanding a large parliamentary bloc and maintaining wide support in Shi’ite communities. Previous attempts by Beirut and international mediators to rein in the group have failed.

Still, proponents of the initiative argue that Lebanon’s deepening economic crisis, coupled with growing discontent over Hezbollah’s role in regional conflicts, may have created new space for debate.

For Israel, the stakes remain high. Officials in Jerusalem routinely warn that Hezbollah poses the most serious conventional military threat on its borders, and Monday’s statement makes clear that Israel views the U.S.-led framework as an opportunity, however remote, to diminish that danger.