Lebanon had been hoping this summer would see the return of tens of thousands of expats and tourists to the crisis-hit Mediterranean nation, spending money in resorts and restaurants and attending festivals such as a famed one in an ancient Roman city.

Lebanon's cabinet decision gave the army until the end of August to submit a disarmament plan to the government. Lebanon's cabinet has told the army to draw up a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms in a challenge to the Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim terrorist group Hezbollah,

MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc Loyalty to the Resistance, has warned that giving up resistance weapons is “suicide,” exposes Lebanon to Israeli interference, and threatens Lebanon’s national stability.