Israeli strikes have destroyed buildings in the Beirut neighbourhood of Dahiyeh. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

Lebanon's justice minister has accused Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah of effectively giving Israel an excuse to attack the country, as he defended his government's attempt to rein in the organisation. 

In an interview with the ABC, Adel Nassar said Lebanon had been dragged into the broader Middle East war by Hezbollah and argued there was little prospect of peace, with the group continuing to run its own "military activity" and hold weapons alongside the Lebanese state.

"Hezbollah's activities … serve as a pretext for Israel to attack Lebanon," he said in Beirut.

"More than this, it is acting as part of the regional conflict, so as being the advance military base of Iran.

"In both ways, when Hezbollah keeps its weapons, it prevents diplomacy and the efficiency of the diplomacy to protect Lebanon … so the government is not efficient on the diplomatic process because Hezbollah is keeping its weapons."

Lebanon's Minister of Justice Adel Nassar says Hezbollah is dragging the country into conflict. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

Mr Nassar, a prominent Christian lawyer appointed to the Lebanese cabinet in 2025, said Hezbollah had long strayed from "the concept of resistance" against Israel.

He rejected suggestions this had devolved into a sectarian brawl in Lebanon with Shia Muslims (Hezbollah is a Shia organisation), Sunni Muslims and Christians at odds.

But the minister echoed the sentiment expressed by his Prime Minister Nawaf Salam over the weekend, insisting Hezbollah was doing the bidding of Iranian officials who were acting with impunity and directing its operations within Lebanon's borders.

He said there were investigations underway into how members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for example, entered the country. Rumours persist across Lebanon that some are travelling on doctored passports, which once belonged to Hezbollah members who died fighting in places like Syria.

"One has to understand that there was 30 years of ambiguity, 30 years of, let's say, dual control of the country," Mr Nassar said.

"This government deployed a huge effort to control, in full, the airport and the ports, which wasn't the case before, to prevent any people entering illegally or the introduction of weapons et cetera through the airport or the port.

"It is not easy, but we have to do it. I know that … the clock is ticking. We have to go as fast as possible."

Beirut's Dahiyeh is targeted by Israel's military. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

Hours after Mr Nassar spoke to the ABC, the Israeli military claimed it had killed an IRGC member in a strike on an apartment in Hazmieh, a predominantly Christian residential neighbourhood in Beirut.

It followed similar attacks on hotels in recent weeks, where IRGC officials were said to be staying.

Mr Nasser insisted, however, the government and the army had finite resources to improve the security situation.

Hezbollah disarmament too little, too late

Soon after Hezbollah attacked Israel, firing rockets into the country's north and sparking a fierce response from the Israeli military, Lebanon's government announced a commitment to effectively outlaw the group.

Mr Nassar said Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organisation under Australian law, had effectively been allowed to exist with "immunity" until the Salam government came to power.

"This is the first time since 30 years that by no means the military infrastructure of Hezbollah can be acceptable," he argued.

"There was a decision enforcing this logic, also from the government, asking the army to start the collection of weapons and dismantling the military infrastructure of Hezbollah."

That, the minister said, was backed up by enforcement and prosecution in the courts.

"Hezbollah's fighters and the weapons of Hezbollah cannot be considered as resistance and has to be prosecuted like any violation of the law," he argued.

But the approach, however much it has been welcomed in some corners of the community in terms of its aspiration, has also been criticised as too little, too late.

Hezbollah fighters are being targeted by Israel and arrested by Lebanon. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

When Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in late 2024, it was agreed that the Lebanese army would move into the areas south of the Litani River and take Hezbollah's weaponry.

Israel had been criticised for launching almost daily strikes in the nearly 15 months after that deal, before the current crisis erupted.

"The consequences of the war [in 2024] continued because there were still attacks from Israel against Lebanon — we shouldn't disregard this, that didn't help," Mr Nassar said.

"But again, it is of the essence that the issue of the military infrastructure of Hezbollah be dealt with, and we must go as fast as possible. I don't deny this."

More on Iran

Analysis by John Lyons

Analysis by John Lyons

Topic:Explainer

Topic:Energy Industry

Analysis by Kathryn Diss

The deterrence for Hezbollah is also a subject of ongoing debate. Some members arrested in the days after the crackdown was announced by the government ended up receiving a fine of only $US10 ($14) as punishment.

While that is a more significant amount of money in a country like Lebanon than it is elsewhere, it has fuelled further discussion around the impotence of the state to rein in Hezbollah.

"There are other cases, we will see how the jurisprudence will evaluate on that," Mr Nassar said.

"But what changed is that before, nobody used to arrest any person belonging to Hezbollah.

Threat of south Lebanon occupation

While Mr Nassar argued the issue of Hezbollah's prominence in Lebanon was an internal matter, he said Israel has used it as a way to pursue its own ambitions in the region.

In recent days, the Israeli military has destroyed major bridges in the south of the country. It says it is an attempt to stop Hezbollah terrorists from moving north, across the Litani River.

But there has been widespread criticism of the IDF for the strikes, with accusations it is wilfully destroying civilian infrastructure and isolating communities.

More than 1 million people across Lebanon have been forced to flee their homes as a result of Israeli evacuation warnings, often referred to as displacement orders, across the entirety of southern Lebanon and the Hezbollah stronghold suburb of Dahiyeh in southern Beirut.

The death toll from Israeli strikes across Lebanon now stands at 1,039 — among them 118 children — with 2,876 wounded, according to the country's Health Ministry.

When asked whether he believed the Israeli actions could be the opening gambit of a large-scale ground invasion or occupation, Mr Nassar said such a move would be "dramatic for Lebanon".

Israel previously occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000.

"I think that Israel also should learn that this is not the proper way to address the problems," he said.

"Lebanon was very clear and expressed its readiness to start negotiations with Israel.

"And this is very important because we are convinced that it is not through war, but through negotiation that we can solve the issues and the conflicts we have with Israel."

To this point, such talks have not eventuated.

"Obviously, the US is in the proper position to talk to both parties, I think that France is also trying to help," Mr Nassar said.

"We are saying clearly that the war is not the solution, and the proper solution is to negotiate. And I think Israel should accept that, and we should address our internal problems."

Israeli officials are threatening an occupation of southern Lebanon. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)

Inflammatory Israeli rhetoric about the future of southern Lebanon is filtering through.

The country's Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the fast-tracking of demolitions of Lebanese homes near the border, while far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has gone a step further.

In remarks on Monday, he said Israel should annex southern Lebanon — extending its border all the way north to the Litani River.

Israel had accused Hezbollah of killing a man in the north of the country, near the community of Misgav Am, on Sunday. The IDF has been forced to concede he was actually killed by Israeli artillery fire.

Top Stories

LIVE

Analysis by John Lyons

Topic:War

Topic:War

LIVE

Related stories

Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War

Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War

Related topics

Israel

Lebanon

Territorial Disputes

Unrest, Conflict and War

World Politics

Top Stories

LIVE

Analysis by John Lyons

Topic:War

Topic:War

LIVE

Just In

Topic:Government Funding

Analysis by John Lyons

Topic:Elections

Topic:Feel Good