Lebanese Maronite Christians Threaten Hezbollah with 20,000 armed fighters

Hezbollah has sent some 250 rockets from Lebanon into Israel between Tuesday and Thursday. This is during and after the time that Israel killed a Hezbollah Southern Command officer. Schools are ceasing studies and postponing their Bagrut exams (Israel’s final high school exams) and calling on residents to stay in safety for 10 minutes after heading a siren ring out.

As things heat up, it’s a good reminder to the global community that the Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslim and Druze communities of Lebanon are not typically fond of Iran’s proxy Hezbollah operating within their borders. The Maronite Christian Leadership says they plan on rallying allied troops to fight against Hezbollah. A similar story played out in 1982.

Kamil Chamoun, a Maronite Christian and leader of the National Liberal Party (and grandson of Lebanon’s President from the 1950s), has threatened Hezbollah with a substantial show of force. Chamoun declared, “When the time comes, we will deploy 20,000 armed fighters to the streets, in addition to the Lebanese Army soldiers.”

Chamoun elaborated that these fighters would comprise Sunni, Druze, and Christian militias, indicating a broad coalition against Hezbollah.

This statement comes amidst growing tensions in Lebanon, where opposition to Hezbollah is becoming a central issue. As the likelihood of an Israeli offensive against Hezbollah increases, many of the group’s opponents in Lebanon are preparing to join the fight. These groups hope that an Israeli attack will present an opportunity to weaken Hezbollah significantly. The opposition’s main challenge is fostering the belief that such an attack is feasible and that Israel will commit to seeing it through to the end.

There are reports that in an Israeli counter attack, another Hezbollah operative was killed. Lebanon says it was a high-profile assassination.

The director of a Lebanese hospital says “So far we have received one dead and 10 injured, 4 of them critically injured.”

Israel’s war cabinet is set to convene over the matter.