Israel pounds Hezbollah targets, daring Lebanon to reclaim sovereignty from Iran-backed terror proxy

Lebanon's government calls for Hezbollah disarmament amid renewed Israel conflict, as international leaders including Macron warn against broader war. War With Iran Israel pounds Hezbollah targets, daring Lebanon to reclaim sovereignty from Iran-backed terror proxy Overnight the IDF continued attacking Hezbollah terror in Beirut By Efrat Lachter Fox News Published March 6, 2026 6:30am EST | Updated March 6, 2026 5:00am EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Israeli military deploys in southern Lebanon Israel Defense Forces arrive in southern Lebanon, Wednesday, as thousands flee fighting with Iranian-backed proxy terrorist group, Hezbollah. (Credit: IDF) NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, analysts say the Trump administration should pressure Lebanon to fulfill its commitments to disarm the Iran-backed terrorist group as it drags the country into another war with Israel. David Schenker, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs who oversaw Lebanon's policy during the first Trump administration and now directs the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said: "The U.S. should make clear to Lebanon that it is time for the state to honor its ceasefire commitment to disarm Hezbollah," he told Fox News Digital. Schenker warned if Beirut "doesn’t pursue disarmament, it will remain a failed state."The warning comes as the IDF attacked multiple Hezbollah targets Friday in response to the terror group's launching of rockets and drones toward Israel on March 2, its first attack since a November 2024 ceasefire ended the previous round of fighting. Smoke billows following strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters) Since the first day of the renewed fighting, the IDF has carried out over 200 strikes across Lebanon targeting Hezbollah’s military, media and financial infrastructure, as well as operatives from the group and affiliated networks, according to a March 5 analysis by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’Long War Journal. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also threatened Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem. The renewed fighting has exposed deep tensions inside Lebanon’s government, which in recent days called on Hezbollah to disarm and ordered security agencies to prevent attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory. IRAN COULD ‘ACTIVATE’ HEZBOLLAH IF US TARGETS REGIME, TRUMP’S INNER CIRCLE TO DECIDE: EXPERT Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Lebanon, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. (Karamallah Daher/Reuters) Schenker says the move reflects frustration in Beirut rather than a fundamental policy shift. "The Government of Lebanon’s latest cabinet vote on Hezbollah disarmament is nothing new," Schenker said. "It is a reiteration of the cabinet decision last August mandating the disarmament of Hezbollah. The language is perhaps more strident, but the message is the same.""It is a reflection of the Government’s frustration and desperation over Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into yet another war with Israel," he added. "It also reflects the Lebanese Armed Forces’ failure to date to take its mission of disarmament seriously." Hezbollah’s latest attacks appear to have caught Lebanese officials off guard. Reports suggest the group had previously assured officials it would not intervene in a broader regional conflict tied to Iran. Schenker said the episode underscores a longstanding reality in Lebanon’s political system. "The government of Lebanon has never tried to control Hezbollah," he said. "The few months that the LAF devoted to disarmament in south Lebanon was performed with Hezbollah’s consent and coordinated with the militia."Still, public frustration inside Lebanon may be shifting the political environment. "Given the population’s growing anger toward Hezbollah now, the political environment should be more conducive for the LAF to confront Hezbollah," Schenker said.ON MADURO’S ‘TERROR ISLAND,’ HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES MOVE IN AS TOURISTS DRIFT OUT Iran rebuilds Hezbollah ties as Trump gives 10-15 day deadline. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images) "The fear of ‘civil war’—i.e., Hezbollah perpetrating violence against the Government—remains," he added. "But increasingly, Lebanese prefer taking that risk and possibly gaining sovereignty than being in a state of perpetual war with Israel."In a clip posted on X by the Center for Peace Communications, Lebanese people angrily responded to Hezbollah's actions with one man telling Jusoor News: "If Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem wants to commit suicide, let him go do it in Tehran, not Lebanon."According to David Daoud, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hezbollah’s decision to attack Israel despite the ceasefire reflects the group’s willingness to escalate the conflic