Hezbollah has cautioned that Lebanon will be left in a state of despair if the government dares to move against them.

Hezbollah has raised alarms about the possibility of civil war, warning on Friday that there would be “no life” in Lebanon if the government attempts to confront or dismantle the Iran-backed group. The government is pushing to control arms in accordance with a US-backed plan following Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah, which has been around for four decades with support from Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards. However, Hezbollah is pushing back against the pressure to disarm, insisting that disarmament can only happen once Israel halts its strikes and occupation of a southern region of Lebanon that has long been a Hezbollah stronghold. “This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,” said Naim Qassem, the group's leader, during a televised address. In the past two years, Israel has dealt significant blows to Hezbollah, taking out many of its top leaders, including former chief Hassan Nasrallah, and around 5,000 of its fighters, while also destroying a large portion of its arsenal. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam remarked that Qassem’s comments carried an implicit threat of civil war, labeling them as “unacceptable.” “No party in Lebanon is authorized to bear arms outside the framework of the Lebanese state,” Salam stated in a post on X, sharing his remarks from an interview with the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. Last week, the Lebanese cabinet assigned the army the task of restricting weapons solely to state security forces, a decision that has infuriated Hezbollah. Qassem accused the government of following an “American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even if that leads to civil war and internal strife.” Nevertheless, he mentioned that Hezbollah and its Shi’ite Muslim ally, the Amal movement, have chosen to postpone any street protests while there’s still a chance for dialogue. “There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants,” Qassem added. f this is forced upon us, we’re prepared, and we really have no other option… At that moment, there will be protests in the streets all over Lebanon, reaching the American embassy.” The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which has left parts of Lebanon devastated, flared up in October 2023 when Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions along the southern border in a show of solidarity with its Palestinian ally, Hamas, at the onset of the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Amal still wield political power, appointing Shi’ite ministers to the cabinet and holding onto the Shi’ite seats in parliament. However, for the first time in years, they no longer possess a “blocking third” of cabinet positions, which previously allowed them to veto government decisions. While Hezbollah continues to enjoy strong backing from the Shi’ite community in Lebanon, there’s been a noticeable increase in calls for its disarmament from other segments of society.

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