Poll finds 84% consider Hezbollah's weapons essential for protection against Israel, while 81% express distrust of President Joseph Aoun and an equal proportion call for a change of government.

BEIRUT -- Eighty percent of Lebanese Shia Muslims expect living conditions in the country to deteriorate further, but nonetheless remain “committed” to armed resistance against Israeli occupation, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

The poll was carried out by Lebanon’s Center for Consultative Studies and Documentation and covers “the liberation issue and political positions.”

The survey also states that 62 percent of Lebanese Shia believe securing an end to Israeli occupation is the most important issue Lebanon faces.

Armed resistance is the most effective means of liberating south Lebanon and guaranteeing the country’s security and sovereignty, according to 48.4 percent of Shia respondents.

Fifty-three and a half percent believe that the decision for “war and peace” should rest “exclusively” with the resistance, while 37.6 percent support the idea that a decision on the matter should be reached through an agreement between the state and the resistance.

Eighty-one percent of the Shia community do not trust Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, and only 12 percent are “satisfied” with government policies. Eighty-one percent also believe the government should be changed.

Additionally, the poll reveals that 84 percent believe the resistance’s weapons “provide protection and deterrence for as long as the [Israeli] threat remains.”

The Lebanese government regularly demands that the decision of “war and peace” rest with the state.

However, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) does not have sufficient funding, equipment, training, or experience required to expel Israeli troops from Lebanon.

The poll comes as Beirut continues to push for the disarmament of Hezbollah at the request of Washington and Tel Aviv.

Israel refuses to withdraw from Lebanon unless Hezbollah is disarmed across the country. Hezbollah rejects this and has vowed to expel Israeli occupation forces from the country.

In June, the Lebanese state agreed to an unconstitutional framework deal with Israel after several rounds of illegal direct talks carried out under U.S. sponsorship. The Lebanese resistance has declared the deal “null and void.”

The disgraceful deal bars Lebanon from filing legal complaints against Israel for war crimes in the country.

It stipulates a gradual withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon in tandem with Hezbollah’s disarmament and handover of weapons to the state.

Yet Hezbollah refuses disarmament and demands a Lebanese “national defense strategy” that would incorporate its weapons into the state and make them available for use in the event that Lebanon is attacked.

In August last year, the Consultative Center for Studies and Documentation found that a majority of the country’s citizens are against Hezbollah surrendering its weapons to the state without a guaranteed national defense strategy.

According to the results, 71.7 percent of citizens do not believe the army is capable of confronting Israeli attacks on its own. Additionally, 76 percent believe that Lebanese diplomatic relations are not enough to deter Israel.

The poll also reveals that 58 percent of Lebanese are against the surrender of Hezbollah’s weapons “without a defensive strategy.”

Thousands of Lebanese have been killed by Israel since early March 2026 alone. Hundreds of thousands more have been displaced.

Tel Aviv’s forces continue to rig and detonate civilian infrastructure across south Lebanon.