Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
Hezbollah again rejects disarmament
Hezbollah chief says the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with a November 27 ceasefire agreement before talks on a national defence strategy can take place.
Monday 25/08/2025
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
BEIRUT - Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Monday that the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with a November 27 ceasefire agreement before talks on a national defence strategy can take place, reaffirming the Iran-backed group's refusal to disarm.
Israel on Monday signalled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese armed forces took action to disarm Iran-backed Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah. The announcement from the Israeli prime minister's office came a day after Benjamin Netanyahu met with US envoy Tom Barrack, who has been heavily involved in a plan that would disarm Hezbollah and withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon.
"If the Lebanese Armed Forces take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction" by the Israeli military, the Israeli prime minister's office said.
The statement did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would fully withdraw from the five positions they hold in Lebanon. The Israeli military has maintained a presence in southern Lebanon near the border since agreeing to a United States-backed ceasefire with Hezbollah in November.
Israel was to withdraw its forces within two months and Lebanon's armed forces were to take control of the country's south, territory that has long been a stronghold for Hezbollah.
This month, Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army with drawing up a plan to establish state control over arms by December, a challenge to Hezbollah, which has rejected calls to disarm.
The prime minister's office described the Lebanese cabinet's decision to back the move as a momentous decision. Israel stood "ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah", the statement said without saying what support it could provide. Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, has said Israel should comply with the plan for Hezbollah disarmament, which would mean the withdrawal of Israeli forces.