Lebanon's government approved a US proposal on Thursday that would see the disarmament of the militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli military withdrawal from the south of the country, Reuters reports.
Tensions have been rising in Lebanon amid increased domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel that ended last November with a US-brokered ceasefire.
Hezbollah itself has doubled down on its refusal to disarm.
Four Shiite ministers walked out before the vote. They included members of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc and the allied Amal party, as well as independent Shiite parliamentarian Fadi Makki.
Makki said in a post on X that he had "tried to work on bridging the gaps and bringing viewpoints closer between all parties, but I didn’t succeed."
He said he decided to pull out of the meeting after the other Shiite ministers left.
"I couldn’t bear the responsibility of making such a significant decision in the absence of a key component from the discussion," he said.
