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Lebanon Faces Crunch Point on Hezbollah Arms
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
Lebanon‘s government is set to discuss a plan on Friday for disarming Hezbollah, a critical juncture in a standoff between the Iran-backed terrorist group which is refusing to give up its weapons and rivals who want it to disarm in line with US demands.
Calls for Hezbollah‘s disarmament have taken center stage in Lebanon since last year’s devastating war with Israel, which upended a power balance long dominated by the Shi’ite Muslim group.
Despite mounting pressure, Hezbollah has rejected any move to dismantle its arsenal, leaving a deep divide between the group and its Shi’ite ally Amal on the one hand, and other Lebanese, among them leading Christian and Sunni politicians.
Friday’s cabinet session takes place against a backdrop of an escalation in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, which killed four people on Wednesday, adding to fears in Lebanon of further attacks if Hezbollah does not disarm. The Israeli military said it targeted a site where Hezbollah stored engineering tools being used for “the organization’s recovery.”
Longstanding tensions in Lebanon over Hezbollah‘s arms have sharpened since the administration led by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam tasked the US-backed army on Aug. 5 with devising a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms by the end of the year.
It is not yet clear how Friday’s session will pan out. With the army keen to avoid confrontation with Hezbollah, the plan could avoid any disarmament timeline, a diplomat and a Lebanese source said.
Any cabinet decision opposed by Hezbollah is likely to prompt a walk-out by Shi’ite ministers loyal to the group and Amal, stripping the government of sectarian consensus. One possibility could be to delay a vote on the plan.
The army, drawn from Lebanon‘s mosaic of religious groups, split along sectarian lines at the start of the 1975-90 civil war, and has been widely regarded as the guarantor of civil peace since being rebuilt after that conflict.
Israel last week signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the army took action to disarm Hezbollah.
But Hezbollah has ruled out disarming, saying its weapons protect Lebanon from Israeli attack. Senior Iranian official Ali Akbar Velayati last month criticized Beirut’s moves on disarmament.
Hezbollah politician Mohammed Raad said on Wednesday it was “imperative” for Lebanese authorities to refrain from agreeing on any plans regarding Hezbollah‘s arms.
A US proposal discussed by Beirut last month foresaw Hezbollah‘s disarmament by the end of the year, along with Israel’s withdrawal and an end to its military operations in Lebanon. It also held out the prospect of economic support.
A source close to Hezbollah said Lebanon faced mounting US and Saudi pressure to implement the proposal, but that the group continued to communicate, including to the army, that it would neither hand in its arms nor allow anyone to take them.
‘BALL OF FIRE’
Amal leader and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had been insisting that any discussion happen without a deadline, the source said.
Berri, in an August 31 speech, indicated that the Shi’ite parties were ready to discuss the fate of Hezbollah‘s arms, but “within the framework of a calm and consensual dialogue.”
He said it was “nationally unacceptable to throw the ball of fire into the lap of the Lebanese army” by requiring it to tackle the long taboo issue of Hezbollah arms too abruptly.
A US-backed ceasefire agreed in November 2024 required Hezbollah‘s disarmament, beginning in areas south of the Litani River, the area adjacent to Israel.
Hezbollah says the deal only applies to that region and that it has handed over weapons to Lebanese troops in that area. Israeli forces continue to occupy five hilltops in the south and to carry out airstrikes on Hezbollah fighters and arms depots.
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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.