Hamas and Hezbollah are quietly rebuilding their military capabilities amid a tense ceasefire with Israel, the Jerusalem Post cited Israeli defense officials as saying on Thursday.
According to the officials, Hamas’s military wing “has been rebuilding its force since the ceasefire took hold, gathering intelligence, recruiting and training operatives, and preparing for escalation,” the paper said.
The assessment followed an air strike the Israeli military said killed a Hamas battalion commander in Gaza and recent air strikes in Lebanon, one of which killed 13 people in a Palestinian refugee camp this week.
The officials said US pressure is “for now, restraining a sharper Israeli response” to Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations.
Southern Command sources said Hamas is seeking “operational opportunities to launch a surprise, limited attack against IDF units inside Palestinian territory, in violation of the deal.”
Military sources told the paper that Hezbollah is acting “in clear violation of the ceasefire understandings” and is moving “in the opposite direction of demilitarizing southern Lebanon and disarming.”
They said weapons were being moved into southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley as part of efforts to restore infrastructure with Iranian support.
Hezbollah’s quiet revival
Western and regional intelligence reports say Iran’s Quds Force helped Hezbollah rebuild its command structure after the killing of leader Hassan Nasrallah last year.
According to Le Figaro, Iranian operatives led by Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani reorganized the group’s military wing within days, introducing younger commanders and tighter secrecy.
Hezbollah has agreed to withdraw its forces from the southern front but continues to store weapons north of the Litani River and in the Bekaa Valley, the report said.
Iran’s strategy, it added, aims to preserve Hezbollah’s deterrent power while avoiding direct confrontation with Israel.
Beirut challenges Tehran’s reach
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reportedly confronted Iran’s role in the country, breaking precedent by calling for Hezbollah’s disarmament. In a since-withdrawn interview, Aoun said he told Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani that “the Shi'ites of Lebanon are my responsibility, not yours.”
Aoun said Hezbollah’s military wing was “finished” and that he was seeking “an honorable end” to its armed role.
His comments followed a cabinet decision approving a US-backed roadmap to dismantle Hezbollah’s arsenal by the end of the year. Tehran has rejected the plan, accusing the West of trying to weaken Lebanon’s defenses.
Tension spills into Syria
Israel’s security leadership fears the growing coordination between Hamas, Hezbollah, and Tehran could extend into Syria.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the country's south this week, with top defense and intelligence officials, signaled Israel’s determination to maintain its security buffer on the Golan Heights.
The visit came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he would normalize relations with Israel if the IDF withdrew from the Syrian Golan.
Security officials said they were not impressed by the rapprochement between the White House and Damascus and argued that al-Sharaa’s “jihadist past cannot be erased so quickly,” adding that he “does not necessarily control his own country.”
