Lebanon's government said Monday that the army would need at least four months to implement the second phase of the military's plan to disarm Hezbollah in the country's south.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday criticized the Lebanese government for offering “continuous concessions” to Israel, suggesting that the Lebanese state should halt all steps related to the so-called arms monopolization plan.

“If you want to surrender, amend the constitution, because the constitution's essence is confrontation and defense for the sake of liberation,” said Qassem in a televised speech commemorating Hezbollah’s slain leaders Ragheb Harb, Abbas al-Moussawi and Imad Mughniyeh.

Today's cabinet session appears unlikely to be decisive in setting detailed timelines for the plan to confine weapons north of the Litani River, a media report said.

“Observers do not rule out the possibility that this article will be a contentious issue, especially since the contacts made in the past two days have not yielded a solution acceptable to all parties,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday.

Germany moved to assure Lebanon on Monday that it will support the Lebanese government even after pulling out German troops deployed as part of U.N. peacekeepers along the Lebanon-Israel border when their mission ends later this year.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier made the announcement during a joint news conference with President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda. Germany's navy, he said, is already training Lebanese troops as they boost their presence in the country's south following the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah.

President Joseph Aoun stressed Monday that Lebanon is “no longer able to bear anyone's conflicts, nor anyone's burdens.”

“We desire nothing but the well-being of our people, the prosperity of our nation and the lives of our children,” Aoun said during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Baabda Palace.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Monday that the May parliamentary elections will be held on time and that even a “technical” delay is not possible.

“There is a law that is in force,” Berri said of the electoral law.

One person was killed Monday in an Israeli drone strike on a van and an SUV in the southern town of Hanine.

The Israeli army claimed that the targeted person was a Hezbollah operative who was working on rebuilding military infrastructure for the group in south Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes overnight targeted open areas in the southern region of Iqlim al-Tuffah.

The Israeli army said claimed the strikes hit Hezbollah infrastructure including warehouses used to store weapons and missile launchers.

Ex-PM Saad Hariri on Saturday hinted that his al-Mustaqbal Movement might take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections while stressing that its political role has not ended.

During meetings he held Friday with several prominent figures and members of parliament, ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri emphasized that "Lebanon and the region are witnessing a strategic shift, and Lebanon has a golden opportunity as a result of the collapse of the Iranian and Hezbollah project," a media report said.