By Nohad Topalian | 2025-04-19

BEIRUT -- Hizbullah is attempting to rebuild underground arms production facilities near schools and residential areas in southern Beirut, violating ceasefire terms and putting civilians at risk, according to Lebanese political analysts.

The party was caught trying to reconstruct a weapons site near a school and beneath residential buildings in Choueifat, after it was targeted in November, according to evidence released April 9 on X by the Israel Defense Forces.

When monitors attempted a surprise inspection in early January, Hizbullah temporarily removed engineering vehicles from the site, only to return them once inspectors left, aerial photographs revealed.

"The party removed its vehicles from the site before the Lebanese army arrived to inspect it," said Hassan Qutb, director of the Lebanese Center for Research and Consulting.

Hizbullah's attempts to rebuild its weapons production and storage facilities pose "great danger to the Lebanese people," he told Al-Fassel.

Weapons facilities raise the potential of Israeli airstrikes while undermining the ceasefire agreement that could bring much-needed reconstruction aid, he said.

"Nothing Hizbullah does serves Lebanon or its stability," he added.

Undermining Lebanon

Hizbullah's weapons no longer pose a serious danger to Israel, political analyst Marwan al-Amin, of southern Lebanon, told Al-Fassel.

But they do endanger Lebanon, as the party threatens civil war if decisions go against its interests, he said.

Hizbullah creates constant tensions, preventing recovery and leaving southern residents fearing renewed war and blocked reconstruction, al-Amin said.

By continuing to target Israel's northern borders with its remaining weapons, it gives the Israelis a reason to launch military actions against it, he said.

"Hizbullah is rebuilding its military arsenal while claiming it will surrender weapons and negotiate with the state, even as senior party official Ghaleb Abu Zeinab and MP Ali Ammar confirm it continues building its capabilities," Qutb said.

As the Iranian regime's number one proxy, Hizbullah has been the beneficiary of its support and funding since its inception.

Hizbullah is considered an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is part of the mechanism of the Iranian regime's regional project, Qutb said.

"It is in the Iranian regime's interest to keep south Lebanon a war arena at the expense of peace," al-Amin said.

As long as Hizbullah remains armed, Tehran will continue to use Lebanon as a platform for its own purposes, condemning southern residents to ongoing suffering and instability, he told Al-Fassel.