Lebanon cannot afford to wait for Israel, the United States, or Hezbollah to act before taking steps to restore its sovereignty and protect its people. With the recent threat of another regional escalation by the US and Israel looming, the Lebanese government should move decisively on security, reform, and support for communities devastated by war. Its legitimate demands for reciprocal action from others should remain firm. But they cannot become a reason for paralysis.
The diplomatic impasse is real. Lebanon rightly protests Israel’s continuing occupation of Lebanese territory and violations of the ceasefire, while also seeking more timely American support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the establishment of an independent verification mechanism.
Washington and Israel, for their part, accuse Beirut of failing to meet its disarmament commitments under the framework agreed in June. That framework envisages Hezbollah disarmament alongside Israeli withdrawal in successively designated pilot zones, independent verification of each side’s progress, and assistance for displaced families returning to rebuild.
The framework also commits Lebanon to extending state authority against Hezbollah in areas outside of the south as well. The principle of synchronized action is sound. Yet waiting for perfect reciprocity risks leaving Lebanon exposed to events it cannot control in the weeks ahead.
Washington’s patience is also wearing thin. Members of Congress, senior Trump administration officials, and US Central Command have invested significant political capital and resources in strengthening the Lebanese state, supporting the LAF, and pursuing an Israeli withdrawal that would allow displaced citizens to return home. But they also expected tangible progress on extending state authority against Hezbollah in areas outside of the South, and real progress on urgently needed banking reform. Without visible Lebanese deliverables, US investment of attention and support is eroding.
The government should therefore announce a concrete, time-bound plan. First, It should consolidate its control of the first pilot zones fully eradicating any Hezbollah presence, and continue to negotiate with the US and Israel for a solid verification mechanism and the agreeing of new pilot zones.
Second, Lebanon should also deploy and reinforce LAF units in other areas where the state can assert authority without direct Israeli interference, including the capital Beirut and areas north of the Litani. These deployments should be part of a nationwide strategy to establish the state’s monopoly on arms, not isolated symbolic gestures. It should prosecute the latest seizure of Hezbollah explosives to the fullest extent of the law, a concern directly addressed by Secretary Rubio in a recent phone call with President Aoun. It should also increase its interdiction of arms and illicit financing throughout the country.
Third, Lebanon’s executive branch and Parliament should cease their dithering about banking reform and finalize the needed laws consistent with international standards and the requirements of an IMF-supported recovery program. Stronger transparency and enforcement are essential both to rebuilding confidence in the economy and to disrupting illicit financing networks that sustain Hezbollah’s autonomous military capacity.
Fourth, the state should offer southern communities a credible alternative to dependence on Hezbollah. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have correctly argued for a comprehensive plan involving both military and government actions. Families need assistance to return, repair homes, access services, and restore livelihoods. Government action must be visible not only through soldiers and checkpoints, but through a state that meets citizens’ everyday needs, especially those most affected by the war.
The urgency is heightened as the United States approaches its midterm elections and Israel faces its own electoral calendar, raising the prospect of renewed war with Iran, and its potential extension to Lebanon is raising fears of another devastating conflict. The Lebanese state should act urgently to prevent Hezbollah from dragging the country into such a war. There is concern however, that it may not be able to do so on its own, particularly if Iran’s Revolutionary Guard insists that Hezbollah join the confrontation.
Lebanon should therefore prepare for the possibility of another war and seek the international support necessary to manage its humanitarian, security, and economic consequences. Crucially, it will need strong US engagement to restrain Israeli military actions, limit the scale of destruction and displacement if war erupts, and preserve the diplomatic opening created by the tripartite negotiation framework. Even in the event of renewed hostilities, Lebanon and its international partners should work to keep that framework alive and maintain a credible path toward a negotiated settlement that builds regional security.
President Aoun, Prime Minister Salam and the government cannot afford to work at cross purposes. They must pull together and set out the state’s strategy, timetable, responsible institutions, and measurable deliverables, and House Speaker Berri must shoulder his responsibility of activating the Parliament to become an enabling institution for urgently needed legislation. Each step should be communicated clearly to Lebanese citizens and to international partners.
Acting on its own obligations now would also strengthen Beirut’s case for pressing Israel and the United States to fulfill theirs.
Lebanon is right to demand more verifiable adherence to the pilot zones process agreed in the tripartite framework, and to seek stronger international backing for its army and recovery. But the country cannot outsource its future to the decisions of others. Concrete Lebanese action now offers the best chance to preserve American support, improve its negotiating position, restore state authority, and spare its people another devastating round of war.