Saudi Arabia Repels Missile Attacks... Houthi Threatens Escalation

A poll conducted by Statista Lebanon revealed that 66.4 percent of Shia participants in Lebanon support handing over Hezbollah’s weapons to the state, while 29.6 percent prefer the party to retain its arms under the status quo. These results have opened up debate regarding attitudes within the Shia community about the future of the weapons and Hezbollah’s military role.

These figures emerge amid escalating domestic and international pressure to confine weapons to official state institutions, following the war with Israel and its resulting human casualties and widespread damage in several Lebanese areas.

According to the published results of the poll, conducted last September, 67.4 percent of participants believed that Hezbollah did not achieve its objectives in the war with Israel, or achieved only part of them. Meanwhile, 42.1 percent expressed negative sentiments toward the party’s leadership handling of the war and its aftermath.

Regarding security institutions, the poll showed that 78.5 percent of participants trust the Lebanese Army, while 71.1 percent believe that the decision on war and peace should be an exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state.

As for security arrangements with Israel, 17 percent supported the possibility of reaching a security agreement ensuring border security, while 24.9 percent favored a security agreement under the patronage of a third party.

The poll included 800 Lebanese Shia citizens aged 18 and above from various regions of the country, according to data released by the implementing organization.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened today to evacuate the southern suburbs and relocate all Shia residents northward to the Aley and Zahrani line, should Hezbollah join Iran if broad US military operations against Tehran resume.

These threats are not entirely new; Israel had previously placed the United States on notice and conveyed them through various diplomatic channels to Lebanese officials. However, bringing them into the public domain may be linked to Israeli electoral calculations, and it also reflects an Israeli conviction that war against Iran is inevitable, clearly illustrating the trajectory set by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for the south.

According to information, Israel has been working for some time to persuade the United States of the necessity of renewing the war on Iran and targeting approximately 500 sites, including power plants, electrical facilities, nuclear installations, and infrastructure, in an attempt to shift the balance of power within Iran and pave the way for regime change. There is also a clear Israeli intention to expand its occupation in the south to the outskirts of the Zahrani River and control the Zahrani refinery, as part of Israeli efforts to pressure Lebanon not only militarily and politically, but also economically and in terms of oil.

In the meantime, the US State Department denied for the third time that Hezbollah had succeeded in transferring Iranian funds, a day after the party announced a financial program to compensate war victims.

A spokesperson for the ministry affirmed working with partners to provide assistance for Lebanon’s reconstruction, emphasizing that disarming Hezbollah is a prerequisite for achieving peace.

As Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held telephone consultations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the US State Department expressed its condemnation of the referral of a complaint filed by a lawyer loyal to Hezbollah against Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Haddad Maawad to the Lebanese military judiciary, considering her prosecution for implementing her government’s legitimate policy and participating in US-led negotiations as “outrageous.”

The U.S. State Department emphasized that the Lebanese military judiciary must direct its limited resources toward prosecuting Hezbollah members who are conspiring against the Lebanese government and people, rather than pursuing individuals who act in their own interests.