The European Union Council has agreed to provide an additional €100 million to the Lebanese military, according to a press release published Thursday.
“It will help the Lebanese state assert its monopoly over arms and disarm non-state actors such as Hezbollah. The best way to remove Hezbollah’s threat is to strengthen Lebanon’s state, institutions, and sovereignty. Today’s funding helps to do that.” Kallas stated in the EU release.
The newly approved assistance measure aims to strengthen the defense capacities and capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces in Lebanon and destabilize Hezbollah’s grip on the region.
"The best way to reduce the threat posed by Hezbollah is to strengthen the Lebanese state, empower its institutions, and restore its monopoly on the use of force," the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, wrote in a post on X/Twitter on Thursday.
This latest initiative will bring the total EU support to Lebanon to €182 million to date.
Hezbollah rejects proposed ceasefire plan
The United States announced on Wednesday that Lebanon and Israel had agreed to implement a ceasefire, which was contingent on Iran-backed Hezbollah ceasing its fire and withdrawing its fighters from southern Lebanon near the border.
However, on Thursday, Hezbollah rejected the proposed ceasefire plan, blaming Israel for its continued strikes in southern Lebanon and stating that it would not withdraw from the area.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the negotiations were shameless, rejecting the Washington declaration as "a roadmap for the annihilation of a section of the Lebanese people and the enslavement of the rest."
"As long as the occupation exists, the resistance will continue," he said in a written statement.
An Israeli official, however, said that Hezbollah is not one of the parties involved in the negotiations.
"We are not negotiating with Hezbollah," he stated. "Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are working to implement a ceasefire based on the understanding that Hezbollah will be disarmed and southern Lebanon will be demilitarized.”