Daijiworld Media Network - Beirut

Beirut, Aug 15: Hezbollah on Friday warned of the risk of civil war, declaring there would be “no life” in Lebanon if the government sought to confront or dismantle the Iran-backed group.

The warning came after the Lebanese cabinet tasked the army with confining weapons only to state forces under a US backed plan, following Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah. The group, formed four decades ago with Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards’ support, has rejected disarmament until Israel ends strikes and leaves a southern Lebanese strip it once controlled.

“This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will have no life if you try to confront and eliminate us,” Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address.

Israel’s operations over the past two years have killed top Hezbollah commanders, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and 5,000 fighters, while destroying much of its arsenal.

Qassem accused Beirut of following an “American-Israeli order” that could lead to “civil war and internal strife” but said Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally, the Amal movement, would delay street protests while talks were still possible. “If confrontation is imposed, we are ready,” he warned, hinting at protests that could reach the U.S. embassy.

The current crisis traces back to October 2023, when Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions in solidarity with Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. While still influential in cabinet and parliament, the Shi’ite bloc has lost its “blocking third” power, fuelling calls across Lebanon for the group to disarm.