Lebanese PM announces ban on Hizbollah's military activities

The Lebanese government decided on the "immediate ban" of Hizbollah's military and security activities and to "oblige" the group to surrender its weapons to the state, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced on Monday.

The government's unprecedented move targeting Hizbollah, which is represented in both the government and parliament, came hours after the party announced it had launched rockets and drones towards Israel early Monday, to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks on Saturday.

Israel then launched intense retaliatory strikes on Beirut and dozens of villages in south Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding at least 149 according to the health ministry.

After an emergency cabinet meeting, Salam said: "The Lebanese state declares its absolute and unequivocal rejection of any military or security actions launched from Lebanese territory outside the framework of its legitimate institutions."

"This necessitates the immediate prohibition of all of Hizbollah's security and military activities, considering them to be outside the law, and obliging it to hand over its weapons".

On Monday, Salam ordered the military and security agencies to take "immediate measures" to implement the cabinet decision and prevent "any military operation or the launching of missiles or drones from Lebanese territory."

The Lebanese government previously decided last August to gradually disarm the party, following a year-long war fought with Israel that ended in a November 2024 ceasefire.

But the ceasefire agreement did not stop Israel from continuing to strike targets it said were linked to Hizbollah, which it accused of trying to rearm.

The truce is monitored by a committee bringing together Lebanon, Israel, the US, France and UN peacekeepers.

Salam on Monday called on the countries guaranteeing the ceasefire, the US and France, to "obtain a clear and final commitment from the Israeli side to cease all attacks on the entirety of Lebanese territory."

He announced the government's "full readiness to resume negotiations" with Israel, "with civilian participation and under international auspices."

Agence France-Presse