Reuters: Explosives shortage underscores Lebanon’s struggle to curb Hezbollah’s might

Lebanon’s army has exhausted its stock of explosives after destroying numerous Hezbollah weapons caches in the country’s south, as it races to meet a year-end deadline to disarm the Shi’ite group under a ceasefire agreement with Israel, two sources told Reuters.

Despite the shortage, troops have accelerated inspection missions near the Israeli border, sealing off sites they uncover while awaiting new supplies from the US. Washington has pledged $14 million in demolition charges and other aid, along with $192 million in broader military support, though deliveries could take months.

The unprecedented campaign marks a dramatic shift in Lebanon’s balance of power. A few years ago, confronting Iran-backed Hezbollah — once the country’s dominant political and military force — would have been unthinkable. But the group suffered heavy losses during last year’s war with Israel, which killed thousands of its fighters and top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, as well as more than 1,100 civilians and devastated southern Lebanon.

The army, aided by intelligence from “the Mechanism” — a truce monitoring body involving the US, France, Israel, Lebanon, and UN peacekeepers — has located nine new arms caches since September and sealed dozens of tunnels. Operations have been dangerous; six soldiers died in August while dismantling a depot.

Under the November 2024 ceasefire that ended more than a year of fighting, Lebanon committed to ensuring that only state forces hold weapons. The army plans to clear the south by December, but the rest of the country poses greater challenges. Hezbollah argues that disarmament applies only to the south and insists that any wider move must follow a political consensus.

In September, the Lebanese cabinet adopted a five-phase plan to extend the state monopoly on arms northward, but officials acknowledge that moving beyond the south risks clashes with Hezbollah’s fighters or protests from its Shi’ite supporters. “The army is betting on time,” one Lebanese official close to the group said.

Hezbollah has not opposed the seizures of unmanned stockpiles in the south and has refrained from firing on Israel since the truce. However, it refuses to surrender its weapons elsewhere, warning of possible confrontation. In a recent speech, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem called the army’s approach “good and balanced” but cautioned against any attempt to clash with the Shi’ite community.

Complicating matters further, Lebanese troops have reported Israeli fire and drone grenades during inspection missions, and Israel’s occupation of five hilltops inside Lebanon is slowing operations. When troops attempted to build a simple watchtower to monitor the border, Israel objected, leaving the site unmanned.

The US continues to press Beirut to maintain momentum. Deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus is in Lebanon this week, and Washington has called the disarmament drive a “courageous and historic decision.” But American officials warn that failure to meet the deadline could invite Israeli action.

For Lebanon’s army, success in disarming the south would mark a remarkable transformation for an institution that once stood aside as Hezbollah rebuilt after the 2006 war. Yet the next phase — tackling Hezbollah’s vast arsenals in the Bekaa Valley and beyond — may prove far more perilous without national unity and sustained international support.

By Tamilla Hasanova