Lebanon Labels Israel Resisters as Internal Enemies Amid Rising Tensions

Middle Eastern outlets describe Lebanon as sliding into institutional collapse, where the state cannot protect its territory yet moves to criminalise those who fight Israel. They argue that branding resistance groups as internal enemies serves rival Lebanese factions and foreign interests more than it serves national defence. They expect that unless Beirut reaches a political settlement over the role of armed resistance, Israeli escalation around cities like Nabatieh will deepen both external attacks and internal confrontation.

• •Lebanese authorities and political parties hostile to Hezbollah are increasingly labelling resistance factions as internal enemies of the state.
• •The Lebanese state is failing to provide basic security and governance in the south while Israeli forces intensify operations near Nabatieh.
• •Israel’s displacement threats in the Nabatieh area are seen as attempts to empty border regions and weaken resistance presence.
• •Treating anti-Israel fighters as domestic enemies is portrayed as aligning parts of the Lebanese elite with Israeli and Western pressure.
• •Commentators in the region warn that unresolved disputes over the legitimacy of armed resistance risk pushing Lebanon toward internal conflict alongside the cross-border war.