Lebanon’s army commander, Gen Rodolphe Haykal, is expected to travel to Washington early next month, a senior Lebanese military source has told The National, in a rescheduled visit after the US abruptly cancelled a trip planned for last year.
The visit is set to take place from February 3-5, the source said. Gen Haykal will meet senior US officials and members of Congress.
Gen Haykal was due to visit Washington in November, but the trip was scrapped in what was seen at the time as a signal of US frustration with Lebanon’s leadership over stalled efforts to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah. A US source close to the administration described the cancellation as a “visible warning” to Beirut and its military establishment.
Under heavy US pressure and fearing expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the militant group, which was badly weakened by its war with Israel in 2024.
This month, Lebanon's army said it had completed the first phase of its disarmament plan in the South Litani region near the Israeli border. The Lebanese Armed Forces had set the end of 2025 as the deadline to clear non-state weapons from southern Lebanon as part of the initial phase, before moving on to other areas of the country – a process expected to be more complex because of political sensitivities.
The military source said the US was “not entirely happy” with the Lebanese government’s decision to defer discussion of disarmament north of the Litani River until February. However, the source added that US officials recognise the Lebanese army’s need for assistance and are considering ways to provide support as the next phase is assessed.
France is to host an international fundraising conference on March 5 in support of the Lebanese army. The date was announced last week as President Joseph Aoun hosted a group of envoys that included Saudi, US, French, Qatari and Egyptian officials.
Information Minister Paul Morcos said after a cabinet meeting this month that the army would present a plan to disarm areas north of the Litani River to the government in February.
“The cabinet stressed the need to continue implementing, as swiftly as possible, all phases of the plan previously presented by the army and adopted by the government, and to begin drafting a plan for the area north of the Litani River,” Mr Morcos told reporters, reading from the cabinet statement.
He said the plan would be based on a comprehensive assessment currently being prepared by the military and will be discussed as part of the army commander’s monthly report to the cabinet next month.
Israel has said efforts made to disarm Hezbollah by the Lebanese army and government were an encouraging start but far from sufficient. It said that the ceasefire "states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed".
Many in Lebanon argue that Israel must also co-operate and make concessions to allow the Lebanese government to negotiate from a position of strength with Hezbollah on nationwide disarmament.
Israel still occupies five positions it considers strategically vital in the south, and continues to carry out daily strikes in Lebanon on what it says are Hezbollah targets despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between it and Hezbollah.
On Monday, the Israeli army targeted several areas in southern Lebanon, saying it struck Hezbollah infrastructure. Local media reported that Israeli warplanes carried out 11 air strikes across the south in under an hour.
Israel has repeatedly claimed – without providing evidence – that Hezbollah is seeking to rebuild and rise again. Lebanese officials and the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil) say they have seen nothing to support the Israeli claims. Hezbollah says it will not surrender its arsenal while Israeli troops remain in Lebanon, warning that any disarmament would weaken the country’s defences.
