Lebanon plans to formally ask Hamas to hand over members believed to be behind recent rocket attacks launched from areas north of the Litani River into Israel, a senior Lebanese official told Asharq Al-Awsat. The request will top the agenda at the Higher Defense Council’s meeting on Friday, chaired by President Joseph Aoun.

According to the source, the suspects are accused of firing rockets in two separate incidents from the towns of Kfar Tibnit and Qaaqaiyat al-Jisr, targeting the Israeli towns of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. The Lebanese Army later raided a warehouse linked to the attacks, seizing rockets and launchers, some reportedly ready for immediate use.

The Army’s Intelligence Directorate, working under judicial supervision, has questioned suspects arrested in connection with the rocket fire. Investigators have since compiled a list of additional Hamas operatives wanted for similar attacks. Authorities believe many of them are now in hiding.

Officials suspect the fugitives may be sheltering in Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon, especially Ain al-Hilweh, in areas under the control of hardline Palestinian factions believed to be aligned with Hamas.

Lebanon, the source said, has made a clear decision not to allow its territory to be used as a launchpad for rocket attacks into Israel. The government is doubling down on its stance that all weapons outside state control, including those inside the camps, be dismantled.

“These weapons no longer serve the goal of resisting Israeli aggression,” the source said. “They’re being used in internal power struggles, to intimidate neighboring communities, and to launch provocations that provide Israel with pretexts for retaliatory strikes."

Palestinian arms in Lebanon’s refugee camps are expected to be a key topic during Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s planned visit to Beirut in mid-May. Abbas is scheduled to meet with top Lebanese officials amid rising concern over the camps’ destabilizing role.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government is tightening security around the camps in an effort to contain armed activity and prevent further spillover into nearby towns, particularly those situated along the Litani River, the source added.