Lebanon's army commander Gen Rodolphe Haykal has told the government that phase two of the process to disarm Hezbollah could take four to eight months, Lebanese political sources said.
Gen Haykal presented the military's phase two plan to the cabinet – which contains some ministers strongly opposed to Hezbollah, as well as others nominated by the group or its allies – at the presidential palace in Baabda.
None of the ministers nominated by Hezbollah, or its Shiite ally the Amal Movement, left the cabinet session, as has sometimes been the case. The meeting began about 3pm and lasted more than five hours.
As the army commander was presenting the plan, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem described Lebanon's effort to disarm the group as a “grave” mistake.
By “focusing on disarmament”, the government is playing into the hands of Israel and its continued aggression against Lebanon, Mr Qassem said in a televised speech.
He urged the government to “put an end to any initiative claiming to be a monopoly on arms” and to focus instead on “achieving sovereignty” for Lebanon, meaning an end to Israel's daily attacks and occupation of several outposts in south Lebanon.
Last month, the Lebanese army said it had completed phase one of the process – which took about four months – to disarm Hezbollah, extending its control south of the Litani River. Hezbollah complied, but has rejected any conversation over its weapons elsewhere in the country. Phase two, which would cover the areas south of the Awali River, is expected to be far more delicate because of this.
Lebanon has come under intense pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah. It remains unclear if the timeframe set down by Gen Haykal will satisfy them or if Israel will continue to increase the scope of its attacks.
Hezbollah was weakened by its war with Israel, which was brought to an end by a ceasefire deal in November 2024. However, it still has some armed capacity as Mr Qassem explained in his speech, which marked the anniversary of the deaths of some of its earliest military commanders and clerics.
“We do not want war but we will not surrender, and we are ready to defend ourselves,” he said.
