After meeting with the US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, Kataëb leader Samy Gemayel said Monday that the next phase of the Lebanese army’s disarmament plan represents a “double test” — one for Hezbollah and another for the Lebanese state.
Samy Gemayel © Mena Today
After meeting with the US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, Kataëb leader Samy Gemayel said Monday that the next phase of the Lebanese army’s disarmament plan represents a “double test” — one for Hezbollah and another for the Lebanese state.
Speaking from the Kataëb headquarters in Beirut’s Saïfi district, Gemayel said the first test concerns Hezbollah, which he accused of delaying Lebanon’s transition to a new phase, obstructing the army’s work, and blocking international aid and reconstruction.
The second test, he said, is for the state, which must prove its seriousness by allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to complete its mission north of the Litani River and extend state authority across the entire country.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the first phase of the arms monopoly plan south of the Litani would be completed within days.
The army is then expected to move northward in stages. Hezbollah has so far refused to hand over its weapons north of the river, though sources close to the group told Al-Arabiya on Monday that it no longer maintains a military presence south of the Litani.
Gemayel stressed that only the full deployment of the army can protect Lebanon and prevent renewed conflict. “Any area under the army’s authority is protected,” he said, warning that regions outside state control remain exposed, particularly in the south.
Despite a ceasefire agreement reached on November 27, 2024, Israel has continued near-daily strikes in Lebanon and still occupies several positions along the southern border.
Hezbollah says it is respecting the ceasefire but will not disarm while Israeli attacks continue and the Lebanese army lacks sufficient equipment.
As the Lebanese Army prepares to expand its disarmament operations north of the Litani River, following months of activity in the southern border area with Israel, Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces, has publicly challenged Hezbollah’s long-standing narrative on the scope of the ceasefire agreement and UN Resolution 1701.
Lebanon is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday, as the country races to fulfil a key demand of its ceasefire with Israel before a year-end deadline.
The committee overseeing the Hezbollah-Israel truce in Lebanon focused on Friday on how to return displaced people to their homes, addressing civilian issues to help prevent renewed war if a year-end deadline to disarm Hezbollah is not met.
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