Overview

• Lebanon’s cabinet approved a U.S.-backed framework tasking the Lebanese Armed Forces to draft a plan to remove Hezbollah’s weapons by the end of 2025.
• Netanyahu’s office said Israel would take reciprocal steps, including a coordinated, phased reduction of its forces, if the army begins implementing disarmament under a U.S.-led security mechanism.
• Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said the group will not abandon its weapons and conditioned any discussion on Israel ending strikes and leaving five positions inside southern Lebanon.
• U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s roadmap underpins the effort, with Washington pressing a step-by-step sequence and engaging both governments as additional U.S. diplomats arrive in Beirut.
• The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on extending UNIFIL’s mandate to August 2026 as Israeli strikes and the IDF’s presence at five southern positions keep the truce under strain.