File Photo: Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the entrance of the southern Lebanese village of Houla. AFP
Lebanon's government last year committed to achieving a state monopoly on arms and tasked the army with drawing up a plan to do so.
The military said last month said it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border about 30 kilometres (20 miles) farther south.
The second phase concerns the area between the Litani and the Awali rivers, around 40 kilometres south of Beirut.
Information Minister Paul Morcos told a news conference after a cabinet session that the government "took note of the army leadership's presentation" on the second stage of the plan.
"There is a timeframe of four months, extendable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and hindrances on the ground," he said.
Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Hezbollah group, Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, and continued occupying five areas in south Lebanon.
Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on Monday on the country's south killed two people, while the Israeli army claimed it struck Hezbollah operatives.
Also Monday, before the cabinet session, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that "what the Lebanese government is doing in focusing on disarmament is a grave sin, because this issue serves the goals of the Israeli aggression".
"Stop all action to restrict weapons," he added in a televised address, saying the government's "successive concessions" were partly to blame for Israel's persistent attacks.
This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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