Hezbollah chief says group will not surrender weapons, calls disarmament ‘internal matter’

BEIRUT / ISTANBUL

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said Wednesday that his group will not surrender its weapons “for the sake of Israel,” asserting that disarmament is “a purely internal Lebanese matter.”

“If some people are linking disarmament to a ceasefire agreement, I tell them that weapons are a Lebanese internal matter and have nothing to do with the Israeli enemy,” Qassem said in a televised speech.

“We will not surrender our weapons for Israel,” he said. “Disarmament is not a priority right now; the priority is reconstruction and ending the aggression.”

The Hezbollah chief stressed that it is “impossible” for Lebanon to be the only side abiding by the ceasefire.

“The aggression is still ongoing, and the enemy (Israel) wants to remain in the five occupied points as a prelude to further expansion.”

On Tuesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his government will continue its discussions next week on “extending the state’s sovereignty over all its territories exclusively through its own forces,” a statement interpreted as a call to disarm Hezbollah and bring all arms under state control.

US envoy Thomas Barrack called on the Lebanese government on Sunday to bring all weapons under its control.

Last week, Barrack concluded a four-day visit to Beirut, during which he received an official response from the government to Washington’s proposal for disarming Hezbollah in return for Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction of the south.

Israel launched military operations in Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2023, which escalated into a full-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and injuring around 17,000.

A ceasefire was reached in November, but Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target activities of the Hezbollah group.

Under the truce, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply. Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.