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Hezbollah Says Lebanon Cabinet Decision to Seek State Monopoly on Arms Is ‘Grave Sin’
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and members of the Lebanese cabinet meet to discuss efforts to bring all weapons in the country under the control of the state, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Hezbollah said on Wednesday the Lebanese government was committing a “grave sin” by tasking the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms, sharpening a national divide over calls for the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim terrorist group to disarm.
Despite unprecedented pressure from Washington and from its domestic rivals, the Iranian proxy has refused to fully relinquish its arsenal, which it retained after Lebanon‘s civil war ended in 1990 even as other militias disarmed.
Now, the US has demanded Lebanon‘s cabinet explicitly pledge to strip Hezbollah of its weapons – a move that risks reigniting tensions in Lebanon, a nation of multiple sects where Hezbollah retains significant support among Shi’ites.
The cabinet on Tuesday tasked the Lebanese army with drawing up a plan to confine arms across the country to six official security forces by year’s end.
Hezbollah rejected the decision in a written statement on Wednesday, saying it was a result of US “diktats” and that it would “deal with it as if it does not exist.”
“The government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam committed a grave sin by taking a decision to strip Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy … This decision fully serves Israel’s interest,” the group said.
The statement said Shi’ite ministers walked out of the cabinet session before the decision was reached as “an expression of the resistance’s [Hezbollah‘s] rejection of this decision.”
The group said it remained ready to discuss a broader national security strategy and called on its supporters to remain patient.
WAR WITH ISRAEL
The session at Lebanon‘s presidential palace was the first time the cabinet addressed Hezbollah‘s weapons – unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power before a devastating war with Israel last year.
A US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel in November ended that conflict, called on Lebanon to confiscate all “unauthorized” weapons across the country, and said Israel would stop offensive operations against Lebanese targets.
But Israel has kept its troops at five points in Lebanon‘s southern border region and has continued air strikes against what it says are Hezbollah fighters and arms depots.
In June, the US submitted a roadmap to Lebanese officials that proposed Hezbollah fully disarm in exchange for Israel withdrawing its troops and halting its strikes.
Hezbollah and its main ally, the Amal Movement led by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, have demanded the order be reversed, saying Israel must halt its strikes before any discussion on weapons can be held.
On Wednesday, Amal said Lebanon‘s government should focus on consolidating the November ceasefire and said the next cabinet session on Thursday would be a chance to correct course.
Ministers will meet again on Thursday to continue discussions on the US proposal.
Imad Salamey, chairman of the Lebanese-American University’s Department of Political and International Studies, said the country’s Shi’ite community, hit hardest by last year’s war, was now concerned that relinquishing Hezbollah‘s arms would leave them vulnerable to further Israeli attacks.
“We are most probably going into a polarized political landscape,” he told Reuters.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.