Hezbollah chief urges halt to disarmament as army briefs cabinet on arms monopolisation plan

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Monday called on Lebanon's government to halt its moves to monopolise all arms under the state, as army chiefs briefed the country's cabinet on the disarmament plan.

In a televised speech commemorating the assassinations of three of the group's leaders by Israel, Qassem slammed what he called "continuous concessions" to Tel Aviv, which has continued to bomb Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreed in November 2024.

“If you want to surrender, amend the constitution, because the constitution's essence is confrontation and defence for the sake of liberation,” said Qassem.

“The government's performance is somehow responsible for this enemy's greed due to the continuous concessions,” he added.

Qassem, who became leader of the paramilitary group in October 2024, argued that the government was serving "the goals of the Israeli enemy" by working to disarm Hezbollah.

He argued that the government should shoulder responsibility for resisting Israel, since it endorsed the 2024 ceasefire agreement. Israel has carried out near-daily attacks on Lebanon since the truce came into force, claiming that it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

Qassem emphasised that Hezbollah is not seeking another war with Israel, but said that the frequent attacks on Lebanon could lead to another escalation.

“As for when, how, and what developments will change this reality, we will let the facts tell the story,” he said, adding that his group has thus far refrained from responding militarily "out of concern for our society and our nation at this stage".

The Hezbollah leader made his remarks as army chiefs briefed Lebanon's cabinet at the Baabda Palace on their plans to implement the second phase of monopolising control of arms in the country.

Hezbollah agreed to disarmament in the first phase of the deal, which the government said in January it had completed by removing arms from south of the Litani River. However, Hezbollah has refused to give up its arms in the rest of the country.

Prior to the meeting, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government was ready to "expand its role" within the committee overseeing the 2024 ceasefire agreement, particularly with regard to disarmament.

The second phase of the plan would see the army extend the disarmament plan to the area between the Litani and Awali Rivers.

Before its latest war with Israel, sparked by the war on Gaza, Hezbollah was widely considered as one of the world's most formidable non-state groups, with tens of thousands of rockets in its arsenal, as well as anti-tank, anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.

The conflict saw several of the group's leaders assassinated by Israel, including secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, and its arms stocks significantly reduced.