Beirut: In a bold display of state power, the Lebanese army has expanded its reach south of the Litani River, invading areas that had previously been off-limits to both national forces and UN observers.
Deploying nearly 10,000 troops, the military has shuttered 11 smuggling crossings along the river, razed militant checkpoints, and seized a trove of weaponry, marking a pivotal post-war pivot after 14 months of brutal Israel-Hezbollah clashes.
The offensive, kicked off post the November 2024 ceasefire, saw soldiers escort journalists through the eerie Zebqin Valley on Friday, unveiling a 100-metre Hezbollah tunnel rigged with a makeshift clinic, ventilation, wiring, water tanks, and stockpiled rations. “We’re in one of the Middle East’s most perilous patches, making immense sacrifices to reclaim our land,” declared Brigade General Nicolas Thabet, the regional commander, vowing unwavering resolve amid the “historic crossroads”.
Since the government’s September 5 disarmament edict — backed by a US blueprint that Hezbollah spurned — the army has unearthed 74 tunnels, 175 rocket launchers, and 58 missiles, either detonating or confiscating them. Now, 200 checkpoints and 29 fixed posts dot the terrain, with round-the-clock patrols enforcing a strict no-entry policy sans judicial warrants.
The scars of conflict run deep: sparked by Hamas’s October 8, 2023, assault on Israel, Hezbollah’s rocket barrages drew ferocious Israeli reprisals—bombardments that gutted Beirut suburbs and a ground incursion that felled thousands. The truce holds tenuously, marred by Israel’s 5,198 alleged violations, including 657 airstrikes that have slain 127 civilians since November, per UN human rights monitors. Hezbollah insists it harbours no arms south of Litani, claiming just one outpost strike post-ceasefire but demanding an Israeli pullback from five seized hilltops before broader disarmament talks.
As border villages nurse wounds from 13,981 razed homes, this army surge signals Lebanon’s bid to reclaim sovereignty. However, as Israeli hawks criticise Hezbollah’s purported resurgence, the Litani line remains precarious—will it establish fragile peace or spark new aggression?