A senior Hezbollah figure has made it clear the group will not consider handing over its weapons to the Lebanese army unless Israel halts its military assault and pulls back from the country’s south.
“This is not about disarmament,” Wafiq Safa told Al Nur radio. “What the president [Joseph Aoun] said in his inauguration speech is a defensive strategy.”
Hezbollah and Israel have faced off in repeated cross-border exchanges, especially since Israel’s war on Gaza reignited tensions. A ceasefire deal reached in November paused more than a year of clashes, including two months of intense fighting. Israel has broken the ceasefire hundreds of times, according to the UN.
Safa said the group has already shared its stance with Aoun, who recently pledged to make 2025 the year all arms fall under state control.
“Wouldn’t it be logical for Israel to first withdraw, then release the prisoners, then cease its aggression … and then we discuss a defensive strategy?” he asked.
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