Netanyahu says Israel could withdraw from Lebanon if Hezbollah is disarmed

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese Cabinet’s “momentous decision” earlier this month to work toward the disarmament of the militant group Hezbollah by the end of 2025.

Netanyahu said 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. Those strikes have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members.

Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told The Associated Press in response that Israel has an obligation to comply with the ceasefire agreement, “which has not yet happened.”

“Lebanon’s position is clear. Israel must commit to the cessation of hostilities,” Mitri said, referring to Israel’s almost daily airstrikes since the ceasefire went into effect. He added that Israel should also withdraw from Lebanon and release Lebanese prisoners it is holding.

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 decision to remove the Iran-backed group’s weapons by the end of the year serves Israel’s interests.

On Monday, Kassem reiterated the group’s stance of refusing to give up its weapons saying Israel will first have to leave Lebanon, stop its attacks, release Lebanese prisoners and allow Lebanon to start the reconstruction process in areas destroyed during the Israel-Hezbollah war.

“After that, we can discuss a national defense strategy,” Kassem said referring to what could be the future of Hezbollah’s weapons and the possibility of putting it under government control.

“We will not give up the weapons that brought us honor. We will not give up the weapons that defend us against our enemy,” Kassim said in a televised speech. “The weapons are our souls, honor, land, dignity and the future of our children.”

In an apparent warning to the Lebanese government, Kassem said that the decision to disarm Hezbollah came according to dictation by the U.S. and Israel, adding that “whoever wants to remove the weapons means that they want to remove our soul and at that time the world will see our strength.”

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.