On the afternoon of January 8th the BBC News website published a report by its Beirut-based correspondent Hugo Bachega titled “Lebanese army says it has taken over security in Hezbollah-dominated south” which relates to an announcement put out by the LAF earlier in the day.
The lead item in the January 8th edition of the BBC World Service’s ‘Global News Podcast’ was a report on the same story (from 01:05 here) by the Beirut bureau’s Carine Torbey.
Bachega’s descriptions of the terrorist organisation that is the topic of his report include “the Iranian-backed movement Hezbollah” and “a powerful militia and political party”. Only in paragraph eight does he note that “Hezbollah […] is considered a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK” but towards the end of his report, the earlier framing returns:
“Hezbollah – which is also a political party with representation in parliament and in the government, and a social movement that runs hospitals and schools – still enjoys significant support among Lebanon’s Shia community.”
The BBC World Service audio report does not even mention Hizballah’s designation as a terrorist organisation by tens of countries and international organisations, with the presenter describing it as a “Shia militant organisation” and Torbey merely telling listeners that it is “a very important political group”.
Bachega opens his report by telling readers that:
“The Lebanese army says it has taken over security in the south of the country, which for decades had been dominated by the Iranian-backed movement Hezbollah, amid fears that Israel could escalate its military offensive against the group.
Lebanon has been under intense international pressure, particularly from the US, to disarm Hezbollah, a powerful militia and political party, since a ceasefire deal in November 2024 ended a devastating year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The army had set a year-end deadline to clear the area south of the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) from the border with Israel, of non-state weapons in the first phase of a government-backed plan.”
As is so often the case in BBC reporting, at no point do readers of this article or listeners to the audio report encounter the term UN Security Council resolution 1701 and they are not informed that under the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon (which in the audio report is inaccurately described as being “between Israel and Hizballah”), the Lebanese government is obliged to finally implement that 2006 resolution.
“These understandings reflect steps to which Israel and Lebanon are committed in order to implement fully United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701, recognizing that UNSCR 1701 also calls for full implementation of its predecessor UNSC resolutions, including “disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon”, so that the only forces authorized to carry arms in Lebanon will be the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Internal Security Forces, Directorate of General Security, General Directorate of State Security, Lebanese Customs, and Municipal Police (hereinafter “Lebanon’s official military and security forces”).”
In other words, any efforts to disarm Hizballah (and other terrorist organisations including Hamas) are not – as claimed by Bachega – the product of “intense international pressure” but rather an obligation to which the Lebanese government committed itself over a year ago.
Bachega tells BBC audiences that:
“The [Lebanese] army said its objective had been achieved in an “effective and tangible way” but that there was more work to be done to clear unexploded ordnance and tunnels. […]
In recent months, Lebanese soldiers have dismantled infrastructure in areas once controlled by Hezbollah in the south without facing resistance from the group, which says it has complied with the ceasefire deal and removed its fighters from those areas, where Palestinian factions including Hamas had also operated.”
Notably, Bachega has nothing to tell BBC audiences in his own words about the actual situation on the ground – including the highly relevant question of what the LAF has done with weapons and ammunition that it has confiscated from Hizballah and other terrorist groups, the reports that the LAF have not operated in built-up areas or the incidents of attempted weapons smuggling.
In contrast to Bachega’s portrayal, prior to the expected LAF announcement on January 8th, the ITIC had reported that: [emphasis added]
““Lebanese military sources” admitted that there were growing signs that Hezbollah had not fully withdrawn from south of the Litani River, but had instead redeployed in a manner which preserved parts of its facilities, primarily those underground, while Israel continued its attacks on the grounds of preventing “reconstruction of [military] capabilities.” The “sources” said that although many “assets” had been dismantled and confiscated and smuggling routes exposed and shut down, it did not guarantee that all underground layers had been uncovered.”
Bachega goes on to mention Israeli statements:
“Responding to the Lebanese army’s statement, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said efforts toward fully disarming Hezbollah were “an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient, as evidenced by Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm and rebuild its terror infrastructure with Iranian support”. […]
Israel has accused Hezbollah – which is considered a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK – of trying to recover its military capabilities, including in the south. In recent days, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had been given a green light by US President Donald Trump to intensify its military campaign against Hezbollah. […]
Israel has not made the evidence it says it has about Hezbollah’s activities public, and the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as Unifil, says it has seen no indication that the group is rebuilding its infrastructure in the areas where it operates.”
In fact, on the day that Bachega’s report appeared Israel’s MFA provided an example of “Hezbollah’s activities” in Beit Lif – right next to a UNIFIL compound. As readers may recall, Bachega himself went on a Hizballah approved tour to that location less than two months ago and then too promoted a similar statement from the UN organisation that for years failed to enforce UN SC resolution 1701.
Both these BBC reports mention the continued Israeli strikes on terrorist targets in Lebanon, with Bachega telling his readers that:
“Despite the ceasefire, Israel has carried out near-daily attacks on targets it says are linked to Hezbollah and continues to occupy at least five positions in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese government rejects the Israeli claims, and says Israel’s actions are a violation of the ceasefire deal and an obstacle to the army’s efforts.”
Days after the appearance of Bachega’s report, the Lebanese foreign minister presented a different view in a television interview:
“While Hezbollah considers Israel’s frequent strikes in Lebanon to be a violation of the ceasefire, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji on Tuesday disputed this, saying that the agreement allows for Israeli strikes as long as Hezbollah continues to hold onto its arms.
“The ceasefire agreement stipulates that the Lebanese government will disarm Hezbollah,” Rajji said in an interview with Sky News Arabia. “As long as Hezbollah still holds weapons, Israel, regrettably, has the right to continue its attacks against them.””
The terms of the ceasefire agreement include the following:
“These commitments do not preclude either Israel or Lebanon from exercising their inherent right of self-defense, consistent with international law.”
In the audio report, listeners are told by presenter Julia Macfarlane that since the November 2024 ceasefire came into effect “towns and villages across the south have continued to face heavy and regular Israeli bombardment”.
Israel has indeed carried out operations against the assets and operatives of terrorist organisations – rather than “towns and villages” as claimed by Macfarlane – since the ceasefire came into effect. For example, three days after Bachega had told BBC audiences that the LAF had “dismantled infrastructure” and that Hizballah had “removed its fighters”, the IDF struck weapons storage sites.
“The first wave of strikes on Sunday took place in the early afternoon, targeting facilities that the army said were being used to store weapons. […]
Later in the evening, the IDF struck an underground weapons storage facility in the Kfar Beit area, near Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon — shortly after issuing an evacuation warning for the town. […]
After the strikes, the IDF said that one of the sites it targeted was also hit last week, and that it had warned the Lebanese army about Hezbollah activity at the location.”
Towards the end of his report Bachega tells readers that:
“Meanwhile, it is unclear if Hezbollah will resist the measures in other areas as it says it will not disarm north of the Litani. The group also has a strong presence in the eastern Bekaa valley and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as the Dahieh.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has rejected the use of force against the group, saying this could exacerbate sectarian divisions and lead to violence.”
In her audio report Carine Torbey tells listeners that “no-one wants it [Hizballah] to be outside this political system because it is an integral part of it” before going on:
Torbey: “But the efforts of the government are mainly about disarming groups and making the Lebanese government the only entity in the country that is capable of deciding of peace and war.”
Analysts have for some time been noting that “Lebanon’s political and military leaders have signaled their reluctance to use the full power of the state and army to implement Hezbollah’s disarmament” and that “The Lebanese government’s […] inaction on disarming Hezbollah suggest that Hezbollah has successfully deterred the LAF from fully disarming it, even in the south”.
The BBC’s uncritical promotion of the LAF claim to have “completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah” and to have “taken over security” in southern Lebanon clearly does not by any means provide BBC audiences with the full information needed to understand the broader story, which in fact seems to be far from conclusion.
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