Lebanon has announced that the army will present a plan to the government on August 31 to secure exclusive state control over weapons and persuade Hezbollah to disarm, Anadolu Agency reported.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the initiative marks “the start of exclusive state authority over weapons, its monopoly over decisions of war and peace, and there is no turning back.”
Salam spoke after meeting US envoy Thomas Barrack, who held consultations with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Reuters reported.
Barrack stressed that the proposal would not involve military coercion but would rely on institutional measures to encourage Hezbollah to surrender its arsenal.
The drive to disarm Hezbollah comes in the wake of the Washington-backed November 2024 ceasefire, which ended a war in Lebanon that left more than 4,000 dead, around 17,000 wounded, and nearly one million displaced.
The deal obligates the Lebanese state to bring all weapons under its authority and dismantle non-state armed groups, effectively compelling Hezbollah to hand over its weapons, while also mandating Israel’s complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Tel Aviv has yet to comply, retaining five military positions on Lebanese soil and carrying out periodic air strikes, which it says target Hezbollah fighters and weapons depots.
Hezbollah Disarmament
Beirut’s latest announcement comes amid ongoing developments involving the Lebanese government, Hezbollah, and Israel.
Last week, Israel signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese Armed Forces moved to disarm Hezbollah.
On its side, Lebanon’s government has been working to reassert control over the country’s south and previously announced that it would task the army with drafting a disarmament framework and implementing it before the end of the year.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem condemned the initiative, saying it would amount to “handing” the country to Israel and warned that the group would resist any attempt to confiscate its weapons.
