Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Sunday that Beirut’s campaign to dismantle armed groups will continue even as Israeli strikes continue, insisting that disarmament will move forward across the country, including areas north of the Litani River.
Aoun told Tele Liban, a national television network, that the Lebanese Armed Forces have reached what he described as “operational control” in territory south of the Litani, giving the military the ability to deter and respond to any armed activity there. He noted that removing non-state weapons beyond that zone remains incomplete and will proceed at the army’s pace and within its resources.
He pushed back on claims that centralizing weapons under state authority is being forced on Lebanon from outside, saying the principle stems from the Taif Agreement that ended the civil war and is fundamental to building effective state institutions. According to Aoun, the circumstances that once justified non-state weapons “no longer exist,” because safeguarding the country is now the responsibility of the army alone.
Aoun said he is not opposed to peace with Israel but argued that any agreement must rest on “justice” and established legal frameworks. He cited the 1949 Armistice Agreement, UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and potential mechanisms for achieving Israeli withdrawal, ending Israeli strikes, resolving border disputes, and securing the release of detainees.
The 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon assigned the Lebanese army the task of dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure and confiscating unauthorized weapons. In late 2025, the government approved a five-stage plan to establish an exclusive state monopoly on arms.
Hezbollah states, 'it will not disarm'
Hezbollah leaders, including deputy secretary-general Naim Qassem, maintain that the group will not fully disarm while Israel holds what they describe as five strategic hilltop positions inside Lebanon, arguing that their arsenal remains a necessary deterrent.
The National News Agency said a Lebanese government employee, Mohammad Adel al Saghir, was killed Sunday night when an Israeli drone fired a guided missile at a vehicle in Bint Jbeil. Lebanese sources also reported more than 35 Israeli airstrikes earlier in the day north of the Litani River, with around 70 missiles hitting Hezbollah positions and residential structures in Kfar Hatta and damaging numerous homes.
Israeli officials say their operations in southern Lebanon are meant to prevent Hezbollah from restoring its military infrastructure and to enforce provisions of the 2024 ceasefire.