The Lebanese government has asked the national army to prepare a plan to ensure only state institutions have weapons by the end of the year.

Such a move would effectively disarm Hezbollah, an Iran- backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon. It comes as part of implementing a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah,

Lebanon's cabinet on Tuesday tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year end, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago.The thorny decision follows heavy US pressure and comes as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah including two months of all-out war.