Lebanese govt. bans non-state weapons in capital Beirut

Lebanon's cabinet on Thursday instructed security forces to restrict weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions, a day after Israeli strikes across the country including in the heart of the capital.

"The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin reinforcing the full imposition of state authority over Beirut Governorate and to monopolize weapons in the hands of legitimate authorities alone," Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said at the end of a cabinet meeting.

Information Minister Paul Morcos said the decision prompted objections from Hezbollah's two ministers in the cabinet.

The Lebanese government banned Hezbollah's military activities at the beginning of March, shortly after the start of war with Israel, but the decision has not stopped the Iran-backed armed group and political party -- represented in cabinet and parliament -- from conducting military operations.

On Wednesday, Israel carried out its largest wave of strikes since the start of its war with Hezbollah on March 2, leaving more than 200 people dead.

The conflict has cost more than 1,700 lives in just over a month, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

In the wake of Wednesday's strikes across Lebanon, Salam said the government will submit "an urgent complaint" to the U.N. Security Council, and he denounced the "dangerous escalation in defiance of all regional and international efforts to stop the war in the region".

Morcos said the government is engaged in diplomatic outreach to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, after the U.S. and Israel said they did not consider their truce with Iran to include the country.

Iran on Thursday called Lebanon an "inseparable" part of the ceasefire.