BEIRUT (Dispatches) — The Lebanese army has initiated the fourth phase of its controversial disarmament campaign targeting Palestinian refugee camps, starting with Beddawi camp in northern Lebanon. 
The operation is expected to move next to Ain al-Hilweh, the volatile southern camp that has seen repeated clashes in recent years. Previous phases focused on camps in Beirut and Tyre.
This nationwide disarmament drive comes amid mounting Western pressure—particularly from the U.S. and European allies—on the Lebanese government to assert full state control over all armed groups. 
While officially framed as a sovereignty-building effort, the campaign also aligns with long-standing Western demands to disarm Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force.
Yet Hezbollah remains the only viable Lebanese force capable of responding to near-daily Israeli military aggression. Since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023, Hezbollah has played a central role in defending Lebanese territory, particularly in the south and the Beqaa Valley, where Israeli air and drone strikes have continued despite a ceasefire agreement.
That ceasefire, reached in November 2024 after a year of sustained Israeli attacks, was meant to halt hostilities and facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon by January 2025. However, Israel has maintained its presence at five military outposts along the border, violating the terms of the truce and continuing aerial strikes into Lebanese territory.
On Friday, one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting the al-Dhuhour area of Aitaroun, a town in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed the casualty, referring to the victim as a “martyr,” but did not release further details.
Despite Hezbollah’s critical role in countering Israeli incursions—which displaced tens of thousands of Israeli settlers during the 2023-2024 war—the Lebanese government has pledged to disarm the group near the border within three months. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib confirmed the timeline earlier this month.
This decision follows the cabinet’s approval of a secretive disarmament roadmap earlier in the year. The plan triggered political backlash, prompting Hezbollah-aligned ministers to walk out in protest. Many in Lebanon see the push as a dangerous concession to Western powers, one that could destabilize the country further at a time of mounting regional threats.
Public sentiment in many quarters remains supportive of Hezbollah’s role as a resistance force. Critics of the disarmament plan argue that it ignores the asymmetric reality on the ground: while Lebanon is being pressed to disarm non-state actors, Israel continues to violate Lebanese sovereignty with impunity.
The 2023-2024 war killed more than 4,000 people and injured around 17,000 in Lebanon, with much of the destruction concentrated in the south. As the army carries out disarmament operations in the camps, many question whether weakening internal resistance groups will truly serve Lebanon’s stability—or simply make it more vulnerable to external aggression.