Lebanon says army to take at least 4 months for next stage of Hezbollah disarmament plan

BEIRUT

This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit. AFP

Lebanon's government said Monday that the army would need at least four months to implement the second phase of the military's plan to disarm militant group Hezbollah in the country's south.

Lebanon's government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was badly weakened in a recent war with Israel, and tasked the army with drawing up a plan to do so.

The military said last month said it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border about 30 kilometres (20 miles) farther south.

The second phase concerns the area between the Litani and the Awali rivers, around 40 kilometres south of Beirut.

Information Minister Paul Morcos told a news conference after a cabinet session that the government "took note of the army leadership's presentation" on the second stage of the plan.

"There is a timeframe of four months, extendable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and hindrances on the ground," he said.

Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticised the army's progress as insufficient, and has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed group.

Israel has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic, while Hezbollah has rejected calls to surrender its weapons north of the Litani.

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on Monday on the country's south killed two people, while the Israeli army said it struck Hezbollah operatives.

Also Monday, before the cabinet session, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that "what the Lebanese government is doing in focusing on disarmament is a grave sin, because this issue serves the goals of the Israeli aggression".

"Stop all action to restrict weapons," he added in a televised address, saying the government's "successive concessions" were partly to blame for Israel's persistent attacks.