Despite severe losses to Israel and talk of disarmament, Hezbollah works to rebuild forces in Lebanon

The French newspaper Le Figaro reports that Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror organization, is attempting to rebuild its military capabilities despite efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm it.

According to the report in Le Figaro, the Shiite terrorist organization is currently operating almost completely underground, and is quietly rehabilitating its command and military force, with direct assistance from Iran.  

While Hezbollah suffered severe losses during its conflict with Israel in 2023 and especially during 2024, the organization maintains a high level of support among its Shiite base and is actively working to rebuild its chain of command following the beeper attacks by Israel, which largely targeted the command structure. 

Le Figaro spoke with an anonymous Hezbollah member, which it referred to as Wafik, who recounted the panic following Israel’s Operation Beeper in September, 2024. 

"I was in Dahiyeh (the Hezbollah stronghold in the Lebanese capital),” Wafik recounted. “Senior military and security officials slept in cars, went to the homes of trusted people to take a shower, and then left again.” 

“For 10 days, no one answered calls. We were like a body in a coma. Only the fighters in the south kept operating, following emergency protocols in case our number one disappeared,” the militant said. 

He said in the immediate aftermath of the attack, no one knew who was in charge of the organization, and only the terrorists located in southern Lebanon continued fighting the IDF, based on contingency plans prepared in advance. 

Wafik also noted that the visit of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, which came just days after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, was intended to help rehabilitate the group’s leadership following the pager strikes and Nasrallah’s death. 

Wafik told Le Figaro that Hezbollah “restored the army in 10 days, but the political echelon remained vacant.” 

The report says that the Shia terror group has returned to the clandestine methods of its early days, with shortened chains of command, separation of the military and political structure, and smaller groups of leaders. 

Recently, criticism of Nasrallah has ben heard in the Hezbollah ranks, the report claimed, with younger operatives blaming the leader for entering the fight against Israel “too cautiously.” 

As a part of recent U.S.-led efforts, Lebanon has begun the process of attempting to demilitarize the southern Lebanon region, which Hezbollah has partially agreed to. However, the group has said that it will not surrender its weapons north of the Litani, and has even begun rebuilding it weapons and rocket facilities in the northern parts of the country. 

Hezbollah has also attempted to strengthen its political representation in Lebanon, in order to prevent a loss of political power that could lead to further setbacks for the organization. 

A Western intelligence source cited by the French news daily said, “They’re like a snake slithering in the dark. They haven’t disappeared – they’re just waiting.” 

At the same time, Israel continues to strike reported Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. 

Last week, the IDF struck a Hezbollah weapons depot in the Mazraat Sinai area of southern Lebanon, which resulted in large fireballs and secondary explosions. 

Hezbollah spends months on rearming and rebuilding only for it all to be destroyed in 15 seconds.

This is tonight 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/4fn0hwgeqf

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 16, 2025

أعنف الغارات الإسرائيلية منذ وقف الحرب تستهدف جنوب لبنان في هذه الأثناء pic.twitter.com/Tg1Yiknh6n

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) October 16, 2025

In a statement, the Israeli military said, “The IDF is operating day and night to prevent Hezbollah’s reestablishment in southern Lebanon. Let me be clear: our rules of engagement have not changed. We will not allow Hezbollah to operate or rebuild on the front. We will continue to act offensively and consistently.”