00:00Lebanon's government asked the National Army on Tuesday to prepare a plan to allow only
00:07state institutions to carry arms by the end of the year, effectively disarming the militant
00:13group Hezbollah.
00:15The move comes as Beirut is under international and US pressure to disarm the group, which
00:20has been weakened after a nearly 14-month war with Israel.
00:24Many of its political and military leaders are dead.
00:28Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem has rejected calls to disarm and warned that Hezbollah
00:34would fight back should Israel resume military operations against it.
00:39The Iran-backed group have called for Israel to withdraw from the five hills it controls
00:44within Lebanon and pause almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people.
00:51Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located
00:56across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during
01:01the war.
01:03Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the waterway, while Israel and
01:08the US say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon.
01:13Qassem has rejected a government vote over its weapons, saying such a decision should be made
01:18unanimously by all Lebanese people.
01:21The issue amongst the public, however, is divisive, with some groups calling for the group's disarmament.
01:25Qassem has styled down his children's
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