Plumes of smoke can be seen for miles in Beirut as drones humming above terrify the inhabitants and force them to seek cover. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and a major ground invasion by Israel appears imminent. A country already mired in myriad crises is living through its worst nightmare. But its national military is remaining on the sidelines.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) face a unique, unenviable quandary: whether to participate in a war that engulfs their homeland. The LAF’s absence on the front line could be interpreted by some Lebanese citizens as dereliction of duty. Meanwhile, participation would mean backing Hezbollah in the war, which could threaten the LAF’s own relationship with its benefactors in the West.

Plumes of smoke can be seen for miles in Beirut as drones humming above terrify the inhabitants and force them to seek cover. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and a major ground invasion by Israel appears imminent. A country already mired in myriad crises is living through its worst nightmare. But its national military is remaining on the sidelines.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) face a unique, unenviable quandary: whether to participate in a war that engulfs their homeland. The LAF’s absence on the front line could be interpreted by some Lebanese citizens as dereliction of duty. Meanwhile, participation would mean backing Hezbollah in the war, which could threaten the LAF’s own relationship with its benefactors in the West.

Several sources, including Lebanese and Western military officials as well as local politicians and notables, told Foreign Policy that the LAF will likely stay out of the war as long as it can. The overarching sentiment seems to be that this isn’t a war that the LAF has the capabilities to win—or even to credibly participate in.

At least half a dozen non-Shiite Lebanese stakeholders told Foreign Policy that the conflict is between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah, the Shiite militia force that operates as a parallel military, and not with the state of Lebanon. These sources argued that the LAF shouldn’t be expected to intervene, especially since it is expected to remain neutral and keep peace between different communities at home.

“They are historically in a posture for internal stability,” said a Western military trainer based in Lebanon who spoke on the condition of........

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