The Israeli military accused the Lebanese army on Tuesday of working with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in the country’s south.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said the Lebanese army “assisted efforts to prevent, delay, or thwart enforcement operations and enabled Hezbollah to prepare in advance to remove and transfer weapons from the area.”
The Israeli military cited a weapons storage “asset” in Kfarra, in southern Lebanon, which it said was identified in December 2025 and flagged to Lebanese forces. The IDF said several months later, Hezbollah was still operating at the site, despite the Lebanese army claiming to have “addressed” it.
The IDF cited a 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that called for the Lebanese army to act “against the presence of weapons and military infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon.”
Under that agreement, Israel was to begin transferring control of “pilot zones” in the south to Lebanese state forces in July.
The plan faced early issues, with Lebanon accusing Israeli forces of firing at its troops, while Israel said it only fired warning shots.
After a shaky start in late July, President Trump’s senior Middle East adviser, Massad Boulos, told reporters “things are progressing” with the pilot zone plan, which he called a “brilliant concept.”
There has been little indication of meaningful progress on the transfer of territory occupied by Israeli troops in southern Lebanon – in a “security zone” that stretches about six miles into Lebanese territory – back to Lebanese forces since the summer.
