BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese army said Thursday it had completed the first phase of a plan to fully deploy in southern Lebanon and disarm non-state groups, particularly Hezbollah.
Israel said the development was encouraging but “far from sufficient,” and its Foreign Ministry said the group still had dozens of compounds and other infrastructure.
The effort to disarm Hezbollah comes after a Washington-brokered ceasefire ended a war between the group and Israel in 2024.
The military statement, which did not name Hezbollah or other armed groups, came before President Joseph Aoun met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and his government to discuss deployment and disarmament plans. Both said disarming non-state groups was a priority at the start of the mandate, soon after the ceasefire came into effect.
Lebanon’s top officials supported the military announcement.
A statement from Aoun’s office ahead of the Cabinet meeting called on Israel to stop its attacks, withdraw from areas it occupies and release Lebanese prisoners. He asked friendly countries not to send weapons to Lebanon unless it is to state institutions – an apparent reference to Iran, which for decades has sent arms and ammunition to Hezbollah.
President Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally who played a leading role in the ceasefire talks, issued a statement saying the people of southern Lebanon were “thirsty for the presence and protection of the army”.
Israel claims that despite Lebanon’s efforts, Hezbollah is still trying to rearm in southern Lebanon.
“The cease-fire agreement brokered by the United States between Israel and the states of Lebanon clearly stipulates that Hezbollah must be fully disarmed,” said a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “This is imperative for the security of Israel and the future of Lebanon.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a later statement that the group was “rearming faster than it is disarming” and showed a map of suspected Hezbollah compounds, launch sites and underground networks south of the Litani River.
Plan to restrict guns at an ‘advanced stage’
The text of the cease-fire agreement is vague about how Hezbollah’s weapons and military installations north of the Litani River should be dealt with, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized installations starting from the area south of the river.
Hezbollah insists the deal only applies south of Litani, while Israel says it applies to the entire country. The Lebanese government has said it will eventually eliminate non-state weapons throughout the country.
The agreement is seen as a procedure to implement previous United Nations Security Council agreements that call for the disarmament of non-state groups and the withdrawal of all occupying forces, as well as for the Lebanese state to have full control over its territory.
Information Minister Paul Morcos said after the Cabinet meeting that the army will start working on a disarmament plan north of the Litani River, which will be discussed by the government in February. He added that the army would also continue the process of “withholding” the weapons in other parts of Lebanon, meaning they would not be allowed to be used or moved.
The Lebanese army has cleared tunnels, missile launch sites and other structures since its disarmament proposal was approved by the government and took effect in September.
The government has set a deadline of the end of 2025 to clear the area south of the Litani River of non-state weapons.
“The military confirms that its arms restriction plan has entered an advanced stage, having met the objectives of the first phase effectively and tangibly on the ground,” the military statement said. “Work in the sector continues until unexploded ordnance and tunnels are cleared … with the aim of preventing armed groups from irreversibly rebuilding their capabilities.”
Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the Lebanese announcement.
Officials said the next phase of the disarmament plan is in the southern Lebanese segments between the Litani and Awali rivers, which include the Lebanese port city of Sidon, but did not set a timetable for that phase.
Fears of a new escalation
Israel continues to pound Lebanon almost daily and occupies five strategic hilltop points along the border, the only areas south of the Litani where the army said it still does not control.
Regular meetings have been held between the Lebanese and Israelis, along with the United States, France and the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, to monitor developments after the ceasefire.
Lebanon’s cash-strapped army has gradually dispersed across wide swaths of southern Lebanon between the Litani and the UN-demarcated “Blue Line” that separates the tiny country from Israel. The army has also been slowly confiscating weapons from armed Palestinian factions in refugee camps.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its shattered military capability and has said the Lebanese army’s efforts are not enough, sparking fears of further escalation. Meanwhile, Lebanon said Israel’s strikes and control of the hilltops were an obstacle to the efforts.
Lebanon also hopes that the disarmament of Hezbollah and other non-state groups will help bring in the money needed for reconstruction after the 2024 war.
Hezbollah says it has cooperated with the army in the south, but will not discuss disarmament elsewhere until Israel halts its attacks and withdraws from Lebanese territory.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict began the day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. The militant group Hezbollah, based largely in southern Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.
Israel responded with airstrikes and bombings. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024. Israeli strikes killed much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership and left the group severely weakened.
Hezbollah still has political power, holding a large number of seats in parliament representing the Shia Muslim community and two cabinet ministers.