Overview

• On August 5, the Lebanese Cabinet directed the army to devise a plan by year-end to confine all weapons to state forces, with a draft due for cabinet review by the end of August
• Hezbollah’s leadership has declared it will disregard any disarmament deadlines under ongoing Israeli strikes and called the government decision a “grave sin”
• Two ministers allied with Hezbollah withdrew from the cabinet session in protest, underlining sectarian tensions over the disarmament drive
• US envoy Tom Barrack presented a roadmap linking Hezbollah’s disarmament to conditions such as Israeli withdrawal from contested hills and a halt to near-daily airstrikes
• Hezbollah has threatened to resume missile attacks on Israel if military operations against its positions intensify, raising concerns of renewed conflict