Lebanon’s cabinet on Tuesday tasked the army with formulating a plan for disarming the Hezbollah terrorist organization by the end of 2025, AFP reported.
The decision follows mounting US pressure and forms part of the framework set out in a November ceasefire agreement aimed at halting over a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, which included two months of intense warfare.
The cabinet met for nearly six hours under President Joseph Aoun. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed that the army has been instructed to devise an implementation strategy to ensure that weapons are restricted solely to state security forces.
“The plan is to be presented to the cabinet by the end of August for discussion and approval,” Salam stated during a press conference.
Hezbollah, backed by Iran, remains the only faction to retain its weapons since the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. It has long claimed to act in the name of “resistance” against Israel, which withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.
Information Minister Paul Morcos said that two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, walked out of the cabinet meeting in protest. Hezbollah’s own leadership has made clear it does not intend to disarm under current conditions.
“Any timetable presented for implementation under... Israeli aggression cannot be agreed to,” Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem declared during a televised address held as the cabinet convened.
Qassem further denounced the disarmament proposal brought by US envoy Tom Barrack, asserting that it amounted to impositions rather than negotiations. “Whoever looks at the deal Barrack brought doesn't find an agreement but dictates,” he said.
In recent months, Hezbollah's influence has visibly eroded. Israeli strikes have significantly degraded the group’s capabilities, and much of its senior leadership has been eliminated.
The international community has made it clear that further aid to Lebanon hinges on the disarmament of Hezbollah and the consolidation of state authority. President Aoun recently reiterated that Lebanon is “committed to removing weapons from all armed groups including Hezbollah.”
Despite these developments, Hezbollah has insisted it will not disarm unless certain conditions are met, including an end to Israeli strikes, the withdrawal from five contested border areas, and the release of Lebanese detainees. The group has also demanded that reconstruction efforts in areas damaged by conflict begin immediately.
Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since a November ceasefire went into effect, due to the fact that the terrorist organization has continued to reestablish its infrastructure in violation of the agreement.