By Nohad Topalian | 2025-06-18

BEIRUT -- The Lebanese government has warned Hamas against conducting attacks from Lebanese territory, as the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) accelerate efforts to dismantle the unauthorized military infrastructure of all armed groups.

Lebanese authorities arrested multiple Hamas members in April after the group launched rockets toward Israel from southern Lebanon on March 22 and 28, prompting retaliatory airstrikes.

The Higher Defense Council warned Hamas that "the utmost measures and necessary procedures will be taken to put a definitive end to any act that violates Lebanese sovereignty," AFP reported May 2.

The warning is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, said Lebanese Center for Research and Consulting director Hassan Qutb.

"This calls for the disarming of all armed groups and the dismantling of their structures and institutions, including Palestinian factions and Hamas."

"Hamas responded and confirmed it will not violate Lebanese sovereignty and that it will cooperate with the Lebanese army to get the Palestinian arena under control," he told Al-Fassel.

Qutb said Hamas "realizes that protecting the Palestinian people in Lebanon is the responsibility of the Lebanese state, as is preventing them from becoming a tool in the hands of the Tehran axis."

He noted that the Iranian regime and its proxies have sought to exploit the Palestinian issue "as a justification for preserving the role of its militias and weapons."

Enforcing state authority

The Lebanese army has confiscated approximately 800 rockets from the Beddawi camp near Tripoli and arrested multiple operatives from Hamas and other Palestinian factions, according to Lebanese security sources.

The army's crackdown comes in support of Lebanese sovereignty, journalist Youssef Diab told Al-Fassel.

"Resolutions 1701 and 1559 prohibit the presence of any armed militia or any illegal weapons, with the exception of the weapons of Lebanon's legitimate government," he said.

"Any military activity by Hamas threatens Lebanon's sovereignty and the security of the Lebanese," he added.

President Joseph Aoun "pledged in his inaugural speech that there will be no illegal weapons, only the weapons of the Lebanese state," Diab noted.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said illegal weapons must be handed over and that Hamas and other factions must not "undermine security and national stability," according to AFP.

Diab pointed out that "the recent operation carried out by Hamas prompted an Israeli response and resulted in civilian casualties, which means that its military activity has negative repercussions for the Lebanese people."

"The international community considers it destabilizing to Lebanon's security and stability," he said.

The disarmament campaign targets unauthorized military infrastructure across Palestinian camps housing more than 200,000 people, positioning the LAF as Lebanon's credible defense force while protecting Lebanese sovereignty.