Joseph Aoun makes the comment as the Lebanese army says it foils a rocket attack on Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says he will not be rushed to disarm Hezbollah under unfavourable circumstances as the Israeli military continues to launch deadly air strikes on the country in violation of a November ceasefire.
In comments to reporters after a meeting with a Maronite patriarch to mark Easter on Sunday, the former army chief said he considers disarming the Iran-aligned group a “sensitive, delicate issue” that must be handled with consideration to preserve national peace.
“Any controversial domestic issue in Lebanon can only be approached through conciliatory, nonconfrontational dialogue and communication. If not, we will lead Lebanon to ruin,” Aoun said.
The Trump administration has been applying sustained pressure on Beirut to push for the disarming of Hezbollah, leading to Aoun announcing last week that he hopes to complete the process by the end of 2025 – the first time a senior official has set any deadline.
Aoun’s comments on Sunday came shortly after the Lebanese government praised the army for foiling an imminent attack on Israel, a first since the November ceasefire with Hezbollah, which Israel has violated on numerous occasions.
The Lebanese army released images of confiscated rockets and launch pads and said it arrested multiple individuals previously involved in rocket attacks on Israel as well.
The raid that led to the confiscated munitions was reported to have taken place in the Sidon area of southern Lebanon.
The office of Prime Minister Nawaf Sharif urged security forces to “thwart suspicious plots that seek to embroil Lebanon in further wars” and said this work proves that the Lebanese state is moving towards full sovereignty over its territory with its own forces.
“The Lebanese state alone is the authority that makes decisions regarding war and peace and is the body authorised to possess weapons,” he said.
Hezbollah has not immediately reacted to Sunday’s statements, but its leader Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group “will not let anyone disarm” it, especially as the Israeli military continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah was formed in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and grew over the decades to possess substantial political and military power. This included forcing Israel out from its occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000 and fighting Israel to a stalemate in a 2006 war.
But the organisation has lost many leaders in Israeli assassinations as well as much military equipment since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023 and must withdraw its military forces from southern Lebanon as part of the ceasefire.
Israeli air strikes kill two
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that two people were killed in two Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes fired at least two missiles at a house in Hula, a village in Nabatieh governorate, killing one person, the ministry said.
An Israeli drone attack also targeted a vehicle in Kaoutariyet as-Siyad, killing another person, it said.
The footage below, which has been verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, shows plumes of smoke rising after Israeli air strikes targeted the heights of the Iqlim al-Tuffah region of southern Lebanon.
مراسل الجديد: سلسلة غارات عنيفة من الطيران الحربي إستهدفت أطراف مليتا ومرتفعات إقليم التفاح@farhat_muhamad1 pic.twitter.com/8TMHLdc06q
— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) April 20, 2025
The Israeli military said one of its strikes on southern Lebanon killed a deputy head of a Hezbollah unit responsible for smuggling weapons and funds to the group, including across the country’s border with Syria.
The army added that the targeted man was “extensively involved” in Hezbollah efforts to revitalise after the group took heavy blows during the war.
After killing two other people on Saturday, the Israeli army also claimed they were Hezbollah members.