Report: Army hasn't demanded extending Hezbollah disarmament deadline

The Lebanese Army has not asked for an extension of the deadline set by the Lebanese government for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the other armed groups in the country, a Lebanese military source said.

“The army’s plan for the removal of Hezbollah’s arms has become almost ready,” the source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

“The army will present the Hezbollah disarmament plan to the government on September 2,” the source added.

The government had on August 5 tasked the army with preparing a plan for the removal of weapons and presenting it to Cabinet prior to August 31, with an ultimate goal of completing the disarmament plan by year end.

Hezbollah has rejected the government’s decisions and said it will deal with them as if they do not exist.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he welcomes the Lebanese cabinet's "momentous decision," adding that if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members.

Lebanon is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.