Lebanese Army Says It Prevented Rocket Attack on Israel

Latest Developments

Attack Prevented: The Lebanese Army announced on April 20 that it had thwarted a rocket attack against Israel — the first such publicized intervention since the November 2024 ceasefire between the two countries. It said that a patrol had raided an apartment in Lebanon’s coastal Sidon-Zahrani region, seizing “a number of missiles and their launch pads, and arresting several individuals involved in the operation.” The raid followed the Lebanese Army’s April 16 arrest of several individuals involved in rocket attacks against Israel in southern Lebanon.
President Says State Monopoly on Arms a ‘Delicate Matter’: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on April 20 that limiting access to weapons exclusively to the state — a reference to the disarmament of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah — is a “sensitive, delicate issue that is fundamental to preserving civil peace.” He added that Lebanon “will implement” a state monopoly on arms, but emphasized the need to “wait for circumstances” that make it possible. Aoun added that “any controversial domestic issue in Lebanon can only be approached through conciliatory, nonconfrontational dialogue.”
Hezbollah Refuses Disarmament: Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared on April 18 that “We will not let anyone disarm Hezbollah or disarm the resistance.” Qassem also insisted that “we must cut this idea of disarmament from the dictionary.” Commenting on President Aoun’s pledge to place all weapons under state control, senior Hezbollah official Wafic Salah responded, “It is not a question of disarming,” framing Aoun’s remarks instead as part of “a defensive strategy.”

FDD Expert Response

“The notion of disarming Hezbollah through political means has long been a delusion. Token efforts by the Lebanese Armed Forces, such as the occasional seizure of rockets or the arrest of a few alleged Hezbollah operatives — actions they are already obligated to undertake — fall far short of any meaningful reform. Disarming Hezbollah, an outcome the Iran-backed group has unequivocally rejected, would require coercion by a significantly stronger actor. Currently, no entity in Lebanon can impose such a measure. Consequently, no substantive change regarding Hezbollah’s status in Lebanon will likely occur in the foreseeable future.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have taken steps to limit Hezbollah’s free reign over southern Lebanon. The only long-term solution to disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon is to cut the financial pipelines and weapons shipments from Iran that continue to enable the terror group. While the recent LAF actions are a positive sign they are a limited phenomenon that is easily reversable.” — Tyler Stapleton, Director of Congressional Relations at FDD Action