An armed clash between two groups of Hezbollah members in the heart of southern Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh has raised questions about the group’s ability to control its fighters and their weapons as it rebuilds its military and security structures after heavy wartime losses.

The clash began as a personal dispute between two Hezbollah members from the Balhas and Shahrour families in  Nabatiyeh ’s main square, according to information obtained by Erem News. It quickly escalated when other armed men intervened to support each of the two sides, with gunfire spreading toward the Saraya neighborhood before Hezbollah officials stepped in to stop the fighting.

One member of the Balhas family was wounded by gunfire from a member of the Shahrour family, local sources said. The clash left several people injured and caused panic among residents before Hezbollah officials intervened to contain the incident outside the formal security institutions.

Lebanese security forces did not arrest any of those involved, according to sources cited by Erem News. Instead, Hezbollah detained several participants and questioned them internally. It was not immediately clear what disciplinary measures the group would take.

The original cause of the dispute also remained unclear. It was not known whether it involved a financial matter, local influence or another disagreement. The organizational positions of the two men at the center of the dispute were also unclear, although sources said they did not operate within the same Hezbollah sector.

That incident raises questions about Hezbollah’s ability to control weapons held by its members and prevent them from being used in local disputes unrelated to its confrontation with Israel, according to sources following the matter.

Fighters embedded in civilian communities

Security sources say Hezbollah has changed the way its members are deployed since Israeli strikes targeted its positions.

The group has evacuated concentrations of fighters and fixed positions and dispersed members among villages and towns, while some fighters have returned to civilian jobs but retained their organizational ties and remained available for mobilization, according to the sources.

That arrangement makes the distinction between military and civilian roles more difficult, particularly when weapons remain accessible outside formal military positions.

The Nabatiyeh clash alone does not establish that Hezbollah's organizational discipline is breaking down. But it provides a practical test of the group's ability to maintain control over weapons and fighters under its new structure.

Weapons that are supposed to form part of an organized military structure were used in an internal dispute, while Hezbollah itself, rather than the official security authorities, intervened to discipline those involved.

The location of the clash has added significance.

Nabatiyeh witnessed broad local mobilization in September calling for a stronger presence by the Lebanese army and official security agencies. Additional army patrols and military positions subsequently appeared in the city, although the army said its presence there was not new.

Military sources later stressed that the deployment did not represent the beginning of an operation to seize or restrict weapons. Units deployed in Nabatiyeh had not received orders to carry out such a mission, the sources said.

Just weeks earlier, the town of Arabsalim in the Nabatiyeh district witnessed a dispute reportedly involving members affiliated with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. The municipality later described that incident as an isolated and limited dispute with no organizational dimension.

The latest incident in Nabatiyeh presents a more direct question of accountability: after gunfire was exchanged and people were wounded, who detained those involved?

According to the information obtained by Erem News, it was Hezbollah itself rather than Lebanon’s security forces.

A test for Hezbollah after the war

Political researcher Mazen Bilal cautioned against automatically interpreting incidents of this kind as evidence of a split within Hezbollah. Their significance, he said, lies instead in the new environment in which the group is operating after the war.

Bilal told Erem News that Hezbollah has historically relied on local fighters who live in southern towns and villages and form part of their communities. That structure has given the group flexibility and freedom of movement, but it can also make discipline more difficult when the boundary between military activity and civilian life becomes blurred.

The challenge facing Hezbollah now is therefore not limited to rebuilding its military capabilities, Bilal said. It also involves maintaining a clear chain of command over weapons while the group restructures its forces, divides members into smaller units and deploys them within their local communities.

If incidents involving Hezbollah members using weapons in local disputes become more frequent, Bilal said, what initially appears to be an isolated personal dispute could develop into a broader organizational and political challenge — particularly if such cases continue to be handled internally rather than through Lebanon’s official institutions.