Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has called on Hezbollah and all political factions to hand over their weapons to the national army, in a bid to restore state control and end escalating tensions with Israel. In a televised speech from the Defense Ministry, Aoun described the moment as a “historic opportunity” to unify the country under the authority of the military and security forces alone.⁣ ⁣ Hezbollah has pushed back strongly. Its deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said disarming would amount to surrendering to Israel. “We will not submit to Israel,” he said, warning that pressure to hand over weapons only serves Israeli interests. The group remains influential, despite being weakened by last year’s conflict with Israel.⁣ ⁣ The United States has reportedly urged Beirut to commit formally to disarming Hezbollah before mediating a halt to Israeli strikes. Aoun’s government plans to present a proposal next week, calling for Israel to end attacks and withdraw from positions in southern L...