Pentagon approves aid package for Lebanese army aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s weapons

The U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, announced yesterday its approval of a security assistance package for Lebanon estimated at about $14.2 million.

The Pentagon said in a statement that the package will provide the Lebanese army with capabilities to conduct patrols, clear and safely dispose of unexploded ordnance (UXO), and dismantle Hezbollah weapons caches, in support of the declared cessation of hostilities in November 2024 between Lebanon and Israel.

Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said yesterday that the Americans now want to disarm them either peacefully, that is through the Lebanese state and by surrender, or militarily through the Lebanese state or by their direct intervention, saying this indicates they have a single goal: to strip Lebanon of its strength and capacity until it becomes an easy morsel under the heading “the Greater Israel project”.

Qassem stressed yesterday that Washington is fully conspiring with Israel, adding “America wants to seize Lebanon and to give Israel what it wants. Do not be surprised that America is present to give Lebanon to Israel entirely. America has abandoned the guarantee it gave with Israel’s withdrawal, driven by greed to control Lebanon.