The Lebanese army will begin disarming Hezbollah “according to the means available”, the government said after the cabinet discussed the plan despite all five Shiite ministers walking out of the session.
Information Minister Paul Morcos stated the government “welcomed” the army's initiative but said that its contents would remain confidential.
The Shiite ministers left the highly anticipated session of the Lebanese cabinet on Friday as army commander Gen Rodolphe Haykal arrived to present the plan to disarm Hezbollah, a move that the Iran-backed political and military force has rejected.
Gen Haykal delivered his presentation and the meeting proceeded, concluding at 6.30pm local time.
In a statement afterwards, Mr Morcos avoided specifying a timeline for the disarmament and did not confirm that the cabinet had formally approved it.
He said the army would begin implementing the plan according to its logistical, material and personnel capabilities, which might require “additional time [and] additional effort”.
Tension over the effort to disarm Hezbollah is likely to increase. The army had increased its readiness in sensitive areas before the cabinet meeting, which was chaired by President Joseph Aoun.
In August, the government made the army responsible for laying out a plan to bring all weapons, including Hezbollah’s, under state control by the end of the year. The Lebanese military, though, has been cautious about deadlines.
“It seems the army commander does not support setting up timelines for the disarmament process,” said a political source.
“He may not see a need for it, given the lack of comprehensive internal consensus on the matter. More importantly, Lebanon has not received a clear commitment from Israel to withdraw from occupied areas or to stop its violations.”
A source close to a bloc of ministers strongly opposed to Hezbollah's weapons insisted that the timeline was effectively set at August's cabinet meeting.
“Today is the implementation,” the source added.
Last week, Israel said it would begin a phased withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon, but only after the Lebanese army starts the disarmament.
Israel, which continues to bomb southern Lebanon almost daily despite a ceasefire reached in November, made clear that it expects the army to begin implementing the plan before it moves to de-escalate.
Mr Morcos criticised Israel for not taking positive steps already.
The Lebanese army’s main concern is to avoid being drawn into direct confrontation with protests, a western diplomatic source told The National on Friday.
“For this reason, we understand they will argue that setting the start date is a political decision rather than a military one, shifting responsibility to the government,” said the source.
Labour Minister Mohammad Haidar, who was nominated by Hezbollah to his position, said the withdrawal was “in line with our rejection of discussing the American paper”, referring to the US proposal, which included the disarmament of Hezbollah.
“The army chief is presenting his plan in the cabinet session and we’ll await its results to act accordingly, and contacts are still ongoing,” he added after leaving the meeting.
Hassan Ezzedine MP said Hezbollah would “not abandon (its weapons) under any circumstances or pretext at all”, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Those who “drew up the sinful, hasty, reckless decision represented by the removal of (Hezbollah's) weapons and gave in to this decision must reconsider it and correct their mistakes,” he told an event in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah enjoys strong support.
“Otherwise, they will bear the responsibility and the repercussions … that may follow,” he added.
Lebanon under pressure
Several other items were added to the agenda to prevent the Shiite ministers from boycotting the cabinet meeting altogether.
The four cabinet members nominated by Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal Movement, walked out when the disarmament plan came up, as they did last month in two meetings dedicated to the matter.
The fifth Shiite minister, Fadi Makki, stayed a little longer to “verbally” submit his resignation from the government, though he placed it at the discretion of Mr Aoun, according to a source close to a cabinet member.
Mr Makki said that “given the current situation and the withdrawal of a key component [referring to his Shiite colleagues], I cannot bear the burden of such a decision again, and I have decided to withdraw from the session”.
Mr Makki was brought into the government based on an understanding between Speaker Nabih Berri and Mr Aoun. The source said his resignation would suggest that this understanding has collapsed, or signals that the Shiite component intends to escalate further, with the possibility of all five ministers resigning.
Hezbollah reiterated its opposition to the move on Wednesday, with its parliamentary bloc calling on Lebanese authorities to “reverse their … unpatriotic decision”.
Lebanon has come under significant pressure from the US to move forward with the disarmament plan amid fears Israel could escalate attacks further.
Hezbollah, significantly weakened from its war with Israel last year, has repeatedly accused the government of succumbing to American and Israeli demands.
The militant group says it refuses to discuss the fate of its arsenal before Israel ceases its continuing bombing of Lebanon, withdraws from occupied positions and releases prisoners taken during the conflict.
More than a year of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which broke out in October 2023 in parallel to Israel's war in Gaza, erupted into an all-out war last September.
Israeli attacks killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon during the war, and destroyed vast swathes of the country.
Despite the ceasefire agreed in November 2024, Israel attacks have subsequently killed more than 300 people. Its troops continue to occupy at least five points along Lebanon's southern border.
Under the terms of the truce, the Lebanese army was tasked with increasing its deployment in south Lebanon, taking over previous Hezbollah or Israeli positions and overseeing the removal of Hezbollah's weapons and any remnants of the war.
Friday's cabinet session came amid intensified Israeli air strikes on southern Lebanon over the past two days.
