Netanyahu says Israel could withdraw from Lebanon if Hezbollah is disarmed 

Workers stand beside a bulldozer at one of five new Israeli army positions built inside Lebanese territory

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could start withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese cabinet’s “momentous decision” earlier this month to work towards the disarmament of the militant group Hezbollah by the end of 2025.

Netanyahu said yesterday that if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024 with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members.

There was no immediate response by Lebanese authorities to Netanyahu’s statement.

Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.

The announcement comes after a visit to Israel by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who has been attempting to solidify the ceasefire and to push Lebanon to move ahead with disarmament of Hezbollah.

During a visit to Lebanon last week, Barrack said the “Lebanese government has done their part” and “now what we need is for Israel to comply with that equal handshake.”

Lebanon needs international support to rebuild after last year’s war, which left large swathes of southern and eastern Lebanon in ruins and caused an estimated $11.1 billion in damages, according to the World Bank. International aid is likely to be contingent on Hezbollah disarming.

However, the Lebanese government must move cautiously to avoid an internal explosion of unrest. Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, has vowed to fight efforts to disarm the group by force, sowing fears of civil conflict in the country.

Hezbollah’s leadership has vowed not to disarm, saying the national government’s decisionto remove the Iran-backed group’s weapons by the end of the year serves Israel’s interests.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities, and its military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war.

Since the war ended, Hezbollah has withdrawn most of its fighters and weapons from the area along the border with Israel south of the Litani river.

The ceasefire agreement it vague how Hezbollah’s weapons and military facilities north of the Litani river should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized facilities starting with the area south of the river.

Hezbollah maintains that the deal only covers the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the U.S. say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon.

A low-level conflict between Israel and Hezbollah started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza, when Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border in support of its Palestinian ally. The conflict escalated into war in September 2024 and left more than 4,000 people dead. MDT/AP