Hezbollah is obstructing government efforts to facilitate the return of displaced residents to their villages, particularly in southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire with Israel, Lebanese security and political sources said.

The allegations, reported by Erem News, come amid ongoing government efforts to scale down displacement shelters in Beirut and accelerate returns to areas of origin as security conditions gradually stabilize.

According to the sources, Hezbollah officials have exerted indirect influence over some temporary shelters and have discouraged displaced families from returning home, even in cases where houses were not destroyed during the conflict.

They said eyewitnesses reported that Hezbollah members entered shelters after fleeing Israeli airstrikes prior to the ceasefire and allegedly stored light weapons inside the facilities. The sources added that residents were subsequently pressured to remain in place rather than return to their homes in the south.

The same sources claimed the objective was to complicate government efforts to restore normal life, including facilitating returns and launching reconstruction, while maintaining political and security pressure on the state. They said this was intended to reinforce the perception that the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement had not yet produced meaningful progress on the ground.

The allegations were made as the Lebanese government reported a sharp decline in the number of displacement shelters operating in Beirut, from 135 to 89, with the number of residents falling from 51,552 to 19,149.

Separately, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing Lebanese authorities and the International Organization for Migration, said nearly 40% of more than one million people displaced by the conflict have now returned to their areas of origin.

A senior Lebanese security source told Erem News that investigations by the General Security Directorate indicated that light weapons had been secretly brought into several shelters by Hezbollah members and concealed among displaced civilians before being moved to other locations.

The source said the weapons were being stored in shelters that remain operational in Beirut, even as the government moves forward with plans to return residents to their villages in parallel with reconstruction assessments.

The same security source alleged that Hezbollah officials had sought to discourage returns by warning residents against going back to their homes and spreading claims that the government intended to use them as “scapegoats” in a campaign against what they describe as the “resistance.” The allegations, the source said, had contributed to some families choosing to remain in shelters.

Separately, a Lebanese lawmaker speaking anonymously to Erem News alleged that Hezbollah is pursuing a strategy aimed at keeping displaced populations in shelters as a means of maintaining leverage over the government in the post-war political environment.

The lawmaker further claimed that the approach also serves to protect Hezbollah fighters by facilitating the concealment of weapons among civilian displacement sites, pending what he described as “new military developments” linked to Iran.

He also alleged that weapons moved from vulnerable positions in southern Lebanon were being stored in shelters under civilian cover.

Political analyst Qassem Youssef also told Erem News that Hezbollah routinely seeks to obstruct government initiatives, including humanitarian measures involving displaced communities.

Youssef said the continued existence of displacement shelters provides political leverage for the group, particularly in Beirut and other sensitive areas, allowing it to exert both political and social pressure.

He said the government had already begun dismantling several shelters, particularly along Beirut’s waterfront, where large open sites had raised concerns about their long-term status.

According to Youssef, Hezbollah had sought to maintain a more permanent presence in these areas, prompting authorities to accelerate efforts to close the facilities to avoid future tensions.

He added that retaining shelters could also serve as a tool for political pressure and potential mobilization of displaced populations if required.

Youssef said many displaced residents had already returned to homes that were not fully destroyed following Israeli strikes north of the Litani River during the conflict.

Others have begun repairing damaged houses, while some families have rented accommodation near their villages until reconstruction is completed.

He said there remains a strong desire among displaced communities to return home, as many shelters have been unable to provide even basic living conditions under wartime pressure.