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Source: https://jiss.org.il/en/siboni-winner-determination-and-resolve-are-required-in-lebanon/
Israel Cannot Accept the Continued Armed Presence of Hizbullah in Lebanon
(Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security) Col. (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni and Brig.-Gen. (res.) Erez Winner - Hizbullah is systematically violating the ceasefire agreement, rebuilding and expanding its military capabilities while refusing to disarm and steadily pushing the ceasefire framework toward collapse. Hizbullah lost 40% of its overall strength, including thousands of fighters, weapons stockpiles, and senior leaders. At the same time, Hizbullah has retained tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, including precision-guided systems, and it continues efforts to rebuild its capabilities, including in southern Lebanon. Hizbullah's continued force buildup may, sooner or later, compel Israel to undertake broader action in Lebanon, including ground operations to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the south and the establishment of a security buffer along the border. Judging by public statements and official briefings, during Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent visit to the U.S., Israel received U.S. approval to act in Lebanon in light of the Lebanese government's failure to meet its commitments to disarm Hizbullah by the end of 2025. While Hizbullah retains meaningful capabilities, both in armed ground forces and in its capacity to launch rockets into Israeli territory, one threat that has been fully removed is the extensive deployment of the Radwan forces in villages along the border. They were intended to serve as the launch platform for a ground assault into Israel. Now Hizbullah's ability to carry out a surprise ground attack has been significantly degraded. Israel cannot accept the continued armed presence of Hizbullah in Lebanon. A central element of Israel's post-Oct. 7 transformation has been the abandonment of containment that characterized its prewar conduct. Israel has now adopted an approach that denies adversaries the ability to threaten Israel, coupled with readiness to act decisively. The concept of "peace through strength" now guides policy - a concept shared by the Israeli government and the current U.S. administration. Col. (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni was director of the military and strategic affairs program, and the cyber research program, of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) from 2006-2020. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Erez Winner served in key command roles in the IDF.