Lebanon orders security forces to enforce state’s monopoly over weapons in Beirut

By AFP 9 April 2026, 2:38 pm

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A banner bearing the image of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain Hezbollah leader hangs from a building along a street littered with building debris at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on March 25, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s cabinet instructs security forces to restrict weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions, a day after Israeli strikes across the country, including in the heart of the capital.

“The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin reinforcing the full imposition of state authority over Beirut Governorate and to monopolize weapons in the hands of legitimate authorities alone,” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says at the end of a cabinet meeting.

The Lebanese government banned Hezbollah’s military activities at the beginning of March, shortly after the start of war with Israel, but the decision has not stopped the terror group from conducting military operations.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.