ANKARA

Palestinian factions in Lebanon will begin handing over weapons in refugee camps on Thursday under a government plan to bring arms under state control, Lebanese authorities said.

In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office said the first batch of weapons in the Burj al-Barajneh in Beirut will be delivered to the Lebanese army.

Additional handovers are scheduled in the coming weeks in Burj al-Barajneh and other camps, the statement said, citing Ramzi Damaschkieh, who heads the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee.

The initiative follows a meeting on May 21 between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas. That meeting set a clear timetable and mechanism for disarming Palestinian groups inside Lebanon’s camps.

The move comes Lebanon moves forward with a plan to limit all arms possession to the national army by the end of the year, a move Hezbollah has strongly rejected as politically motivated and aligned with Israeli and US pressure.

Israel launched a military offensive 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 Hezbollah activities.

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.