A passenger in a car makes a victory sign while waving a Hezbollah flag on the second day after the ceasefire with Israel was implemented, on Nov. 28, 2024, in Sour, South Lebanon. (Credit: Reuters/Aziz Taher/File Photo)
Calls for Hezbollah to disarm are gaining momentum, and a senior Hezbollah official told Reuters the group is prepared to hold talks with the Lebanese president about its weapons if Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and ends its attacks.
President Joseph Aoun, who took office on Jan. 9, pledged to establish a state monopoly on arms control. He also plans to soon open talks with Hezbollah over its arsenal, according to three Lebanese political sources who spoke to Reuters.
Discussions around disarmament have intensified since the war between Hezbollah and Israel, which spanned from Oct. 8, 2023, to Nov. 27, 2024. Hezbollah emerged significantly weakened after many of its senior leaders and thousands of its fighters were killed, and much of its rocket arsenal destroyed.
“Hezbollah is ready to discuss its weapons if Israel withdraws from the five points and ends its aggression against the Lebanese,” the senior official said.
Hezbollah’s stance on potentially discussing its weapons had not previously been reported. The party’s media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, and the presidency declined to comment. Israel, which had deployed ground forces in southern Lebanon during the war, has largely withdrawn but still occupies five hilltop positions it deems "strategic." The Israeli government said it intends to hand those hills over to the Lebanese Army once "security conditions allow."
Renewed focus on Hezbollah’s weapons
Despite the cease-fire, Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon have been near-daily, in addition to multiple strikes on areas in the Bekaa district and two on Beirut's southern suburbs. Over 127 people have been killed since the cease-fire came into effect in November, according to L'Orient Today's count.
Washington demanded that Hezbollah disarm as it prepares for nuclear negotiations with the party’s Iranian backers. Hezbollah has been the most powerful of Iran’s allied militias in the region, but its supply lines through Syria have been severed following President Bashar al-Assad’s ousting.
Reuters reported Monday that several Iran-backed militias in Iraq are, for the first time, ready to lay down their arms to avoid escalating tensions with the Trump administration. Hezbollah has long dismissed its Lebanese critics’ calls for disarmament, describing its arsenal as vital for defending the country against Israel.
The U.S.-brokered cease-fire with Israel requires the Lebanese Army to dismantle all unauthorized military sites and confiscate all weapons, starting with areas south of the Litani River. Two sources familiar with Hezbollah’s internal discussions said the group is considering handing over its most powerful weapons — including drones and anti-tank missiles — to the army, but only those located north of the Litani.
Disarmament timeline
Sources said Aoun believes Hezbollah’s weapons must be addressed through dialogue, as any attempt to disarm the group by force would spark conflict. Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai said last week that all arms should be in the hands of the state, but achieving that would require time and diplomacy because “Lebanon cannot withstand another war.”
Communication channels with relevant stakeholders are open to “begin studying the transfer of weapons” under state control, following the army and security forces’ expansion of authority across Lebanon, a Lebanese official said. The move is part of Aoun’s policy agenda. The matter is also being discussed with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, who is playing a central role in bridging gaps, the official added.
Speaking to Al-Jadeed on Wednesday, Hezbollah political bureau member Ghaleb Abou Zaynab said he does not support the party’s disarmament. “I don’t agree with handing over Hezbollah’s weapons. I’m in favor of dialogue — but one that helps Lebanon maintain a position of strength to preserve its existence amid these major changes,” he said.
Deputy U.S. envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, who visited Beirut last weekend, reiterated Washington’s position that Hezbollah and other armed groups must lay down their weapons as soon as possible and that the Lebanese Army must carry out this task.
"It's clear that Hezbollah has to be disarmed and it's clear that Israel is not going to accept terrorists shooting at them, into their country, and that's a position we understand," Ortagus said in an April 6 interview with Lebanese channel LBCI.
Several ministers in Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government support a disarmament timetable, according to Kamal Shehadeh, a minister affiliated with the Lebanese Forces. Shehadeh told Reuters that the process should not take more than six months, citing the post–Civil War disarmament of militias (1975–1990) as precedent. A timeline — which would likely impose deadlines on the process — is, he said, “the only way to protect our citizens from recurring attacks that cost lives, economies and destruction.”
For his part, Salam said Wednesday, after meeting with Patriarch Rai in Bkerke, that the question of the state’s monopoly on arms would “soon” be raised in Cabinet. Following the meeting, Salam said they also discussed the government’s work on restructuring the banking sector, which is set to be addressed in an upcoming session of Parliament’s joint committees, and the holding of municipal elections in May, particularly in Beirut.
He added that he had “asked the relevant ministers, especially the defense minister, to update me on the progress” of these issues. “Israel must fully withdraw from the five positions it still occupies in southern Lebanon. We are working on implementing Resolution 1701. I have not been informed of any threats regarding a resumption of war,” he said. “I also briefed the patriarch on the discussions with Morgan Ortagus.”
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