Hezbollah’s deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a televised address on 25 August that the group will "not give up the weapons that dignified us" and will resist any Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory. He warned that fighting would continue if Israel sought to impose its goals and insisted the government in its current form "cannot be trusted to protect Lebanon’s independence." Qassem’s remarks are a direct rebuttal to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s cabinet, which this week ordered the Lebanese Army to prepare a comprehensive plan to disarm all non-state actors by the end of the year. Shia ministers, including representatives of Hezbollah and its ally Amal, walked out of the two most recent cabinet sessions in protest, arguing that the move was made under Israeli and U.S. pressure. The United States has welcomed the disarmament initiative as a step toward full Lebanese sovereignty, while Hezbollah says any discussion of a national defense strategy can begin only after Israel fully implements the November 2024 cease-fire and withdraws from occupied Lebanese land. Qassem accused Washington of “sabotaging” Lebanon through sanctions and aid restrictions and urged the government to focus instead on ending Israeli attacks, rebuilding the south and releasing prisoners.