Lebanon's government on Tuesday tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict arms to the state by year end, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said, an unprecedented move that paves the way for disarming Hezbollah.

The government "tasked the Lebanese Army with setting an implementation plan to restrict weapons" to the army and other government forces "before the end of this year," with the plan to be presented to the cabinet by the end of this month, Salam told a press conference after a nearly six-hour cabinet session headed by President Joseph Aoun.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Tuesday his group would not accept any timetable on handing over its weapons to the Lebanese state while Israeli strikes continue, as the government held a session on the issue.

"Any timetable presented for implementation under... Israeli aggression cannot be agreed to," Qassem said in a televised address, urging the state to develop "plans to face the pressure and threats" and not to "deprive the resistance (Hezbollah) of its capacities and strength."

Cabinet convened Tuesday to discuss restricting the possession of weapons to the state, in a session attended by Hezbollah and Amal ministers.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was quoted as saying that Amal and Hezbollah are open to any positive discussion but will not accept any decision "that does not take the national interest into account."

As cabinet convened Tuesday to discuss a thorny and controversial plan to disarm Hezbollah under heavy U.S. pressure, Hezbollah and its ally Amal were reportedly trying to postpone the discussion after overnight protests that Hezbollah said were "spontaneous".

Supporters of the group had roamed the streets of the capital and its southern suburbs on motorbikes, in a show of defiance reflecting their rejection of Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Videos and pictures of over 100 black-clad young people outside a restaurant in Khalde have sparked concern in the country, hours before a crucial cabinet session that will discuss the thorny issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Cabinet began a highly-anticipated session at 3:00 pm Tuesday at the Baabda Palace, in the absence of Finance Minister Yassine Jaber of the Amal Movement and Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar of Hezbollah, who are both outside the country.

The session had the thorny issue of Hezbollah's disarmament as the first article on its agenda, but it was postponed to the end of the session as the meeting got underway. TV networks meanwhile said that there is an inclination to postpone the final decision on the clause related to arms to another cabinet session.

The British Embassy in Beirut announced Tuesday that applications for the UK Government’s flagship Chevening Scholarships program are now open. Applicants should apply online via www.chevening.org/apply by 7 October 2025.

Lebanese citizens (and Palestinians residing in Lebanon) are eligible to apply under the Lebanon scheme in any subject area, the embassy said in a statement.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement do not want a “popular escalation” on the streets over Tuesday’s cabinet session that will tackle the thorny issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, pro-Hezbollah journalist Qassem Qassir told Al-Jadeed TV on Tuesday.

The country’s political forces are holding intensive contacts ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet session that will discuss the thorny issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, amid an inclination toward consensus, with some media reports suggesting that no final decision would be taken in the session and that discussions would continue in another session on Thursday.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Monday said Washington stands with the people of Lebanon in “their call for accountability” in the Beirut port blast case.