[AnNahar] President Joseph Aoun and Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal have committed to taking "a certain step in the North Litani region," al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The step will take place "prior to Haykal’s travel to Washington next month," the pro-Hezbollah daily added.
Haykal is scheduled to visit Washington from February 3 to 5, media reports said on Monday.
Haykal will present to Washington detailed military maps, and a list of Hezbollah sites and tunnels, local TV network MTV said.
According to the channel, Haykal will also give deadlines for the implementation of the disarmament plan.
In November, a visit by Haykal was canceled just hours before he was set to depart for Washington, after U.S. officials and senators criticized the Lebanese Army and its chief, accusing them of not doing enough to disarm Hezbollah.
The cancellation included all high-level meetings at the Pentagon and Congress, as well as an official reception at the Lebanese Embassy.
'What you see, not what you hear': Aoun says only army operating south of Litani
[AnNahar] President Joseph Aoun stressed Tuesday in a press conference his commitment to disarm Hezbollah and implement the state's monopoly on arms.
"We want the south only under the army's control," Aoun said, as he welcomed foreign diplomats and ambassadors at the Baabda palace. "We want to rebuild all what has been destroyed as a result of attacks and adventures."
Aoun said his goal on the international level, was "to restore Lebanon to its natural place and position within the Arab fold, as well as within international and global legitimacy." "This is what I have consistently worked to do, step by step, through ten visits to brotherly Arab nations, four to friendly European countries, and through my participation in three Arab, Islamic, and international events."
Aoun said the Lebanese army is today the only armed force south of the Litani river after it disarmed Hezbollah there, invoking a phrase used by former Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, "the truth is what you see, not what you hear".
"What we have seen with our own eyes is that not a single bullet has been fired from Lebanon during the year of my presidency. This confirms that only the Lebanese Army is operating south of the Litani River."
Report: Hezbollah tried to prevent army from reaching bombed N. Litani sites
[AnNahar] Hezbollah has changed the way it deals on the ground with the Lebanese Army and it tried to prevent army troops from reaching sites bombed by Israel north of the Litani River, sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.
The sources added that a fistfight erupted between members of Hezbollah and the allied Amal Movement after Israel bombed buildings in the southern town of Kfar Hatta, with Amal accusing Hezbollah of “storing weapons in residential areas.”
Israel has continued to launch regular strikes in south Lebanon even after a ceasefire was agreed with Hezbollah in November 2024 to end more than a year of hostilities.
Last week, the Lebanese Army said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River in the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel described those efforts as insufficient.
The Lebanese government is supposed to discuss in February a plan for disarming Hezbollah north of the Litani River.
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