As the deadline that Lebanon’s government set for disarming Hezbollah in the south of the country approaches, the group insists it won’t give up its weapons.The Lebanese cabinet tasked the military in August with formulating a plan to remove Hezbollah’s arms by the end of 2025 in accordance with a plan put forward by the United States.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listHezbollah was quick to reject the decree, calling it a “grave sin” and promising to treat it “as if it does not exist”.In September, the Lebanese military presented a phased approach to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south of the country up to the Litani River, 28km (17 miles) from the Israeli border and moving northwards to the capital, Beirut, and subsequently nationwide.Thursday marks the deadline of the completion of the first stage. But a defiant Hezbollah has dismissed the efforts to disarm it as a US-Israeli plan demanded at a time when Israel is conducting daily air strikes on Lebanon.“To demand exclusive arms control while Israel is committing aggression and America is imposing its will on Lebanon, stripping it of its power, means that you are not working in Lebanon’s interest but rather in the interest of what Israel wants,” Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said this week.Israeli strikesWhile the debate inside Lebanon rages around the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state, Israeli attacks against the country have not relented.On Wednesday, Israeli forces bombed several villages in southern Lebanon and blew up the last undamaged home in the border town of Marwahin, according to the official National News Agency.Israeli strikes have not been …
