Amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, analysts say the Trump administration should to fulfill its commitments to disarm the Iran-backed terrorist group as it drags the country into another war with Israel. Â
David Schenker, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs who oversaw Lebanon’s policy during the first Trump administration and now directs the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said: “The U.S. should make clear to Lebanon that it is time for the state to honor its ceasefire commitment to disarm Hezbollah,” he told Fox News Digital. Schenker warned if Beirut “doesnt pursue disarmament, it will remain a failed state.”
The warning comes as the IDF attacked multiple Hezbollah targets Friday in response to the terror group’s launching of rockets and drones toward Israel on March 2, its first attack since a November 2024 ceasefire ended the previous round of fighting.Â
Since the first day of the renewed fighting, the IDF has carried out over 200 strikes across Lebanon targeting Hezbollahs military, media and financial infrastructure, as well as operatives from the group and affiliated networks, according to a March 5 analysis by the Foundation for Defense of DemocraciesLong War Journal. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also threatened Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem.
The renewed fighting has exposed deep tensions inside Lebanons government, which in recent days and ordered security agencies to prevent attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory.Â
Schenker says the move reflects frustration in Beirut rather than a fundamental policy shift. “The Government of Lebanons latest cabinet vote on Hezbollah disarmament is nothing new,” Schenker said. “It is a reiteration of the cabinet decision last August mandating the disarmament of Hezbollah. The language is perhaps more strident, but the message is the same.”
“It is a reflection of the Governments frustration and desperation over Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into yet another war with ,” he added. “It also reflects the Lebanese Armed Forces failure to date to take its mission of disarmament seriously.”
Hezbollahs latest attacks appear to have caught Lebanese officials off guard. Reports suggest the group had previously assured officials it would not intervene in a broader regional conflict tied to Iran.
Schenker said the episode underscores a longstanding reality in Lebanons political system. “The government of Lebanon has never tried to control Hezbollah,” he said. “The few months that the LAF devoted to disarmament in south Lebanon was performed with Hezbollahs consent and coordinated with the militia.”
Still, public frustration inside may be shifting the political environment. “Given the populations growing anger toward Hezbollah now, the political environment should be more conducive for the LAF to confront Hezbollah,” Schenker said.
“The fear of civil warâi.e., Hezbollah perpetrating violence against the Governmentâremains,” he added. “But increasingly, Lebanese prefer taking that risk and possibly gaining sovereignty than being in a state of perpetual war with Israel.”
In a clip posted on X by the Center for Peace Communications, Lebanese people angrily responded to Hezbollah’s actions with one man telling Jusoor News: “If Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem wants to commit suicide, let him go do it in Tehran, not Lebanon.”
According to David Daoud, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hezbollahs decision to attack Israel despite the ceasefire reflects the groups willingness to even as Lebanons government seeks to avoid another war.
The crisis has also drawn international attention. French President called for urgen
