Saudi Arabia, France and the United States seek to avoid conflict in Lebanon and strengthen the army

French, Saudi and US officials met in Paris with the head of the Lebanese army to finalise a roadmap for a mechanism to disarm Hezbollah, according to diplomatic sources.

The participants agreed to set up a joint working group to hold a conference in support of the Lebanese army in early 2026, the Élysée Palace said in a statement.

A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in 2024 ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which severely weakened the Iranian-backed militants. Since then, both sides have traded accusations of violations, and Israel has questioned the Lebanese Army's efforts to disarm Hezbollah. Israeli warplanes have increasingly targeted Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and even in the capital.

After the meeting, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said the talks agreed to seriously document with evidence the Lebanese army's efforts to disarm Hezbollah, as well as to strengthen the existing ceasefire mechanism.

Amid growing fears that the ceasefire could break down, the Paris meeting aimed to reinforce the conditions for identifying, supporting and verifying the disarmament process and deterring Israel from escalation, European and Lebanese diplomats and officials told Reuters.

With legislative elections scheduled for 2026 in Lebanon, there are concerns that political paralysis and partisan politics will further fuel instability and make President Joseph Aoun less likely to push for disarmament, diplomats and officials said.

‘The situation is extremely precarious, full of contradictions, and it won't take much to ignite the powder keg,’ said a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

‘Aoun does not want to make the disarmament process too public because he fears it could antagonise and provoke tensions with the Shiite community in the south of the country.’

Given that the Lebanese army lacks the capacity to disarm Hezbollah, the idea would be to reinforce the existing ceasefire mechanism with French, American and possibly other military experts, along with UN peacekeepers, diplomats and officials said. The parties agreed to hold a conference in February to strengthen the Lebanese army, Confavreux said.

Thursday's meetings showed ‘progress in implementing the plan to restore the Lebanese state's monopoly on weapons,’ French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said at a briefing.

Lebanese Army Chief Rodolphe Haykal outlined the ‘specific needs of the Lebanese Armed Forces’ to continue this work, Confavreux added.

He said officials agreed on the need to ‘seriously document these advances’ and added that they were ‘working on this within the framework of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism.’

Sources familiar with the talks said they were chaired by French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian and attended by US envoy Morgan Ortagus and Saudi envoy Yazid bin Farhan.

‘Indeed, there is this deadline of 31 December. Our job is to support the Lebanese efforts to meet it,’ Confavreux said. ‘And if it needs to be extended, the partners will discuss it.’

For now, actions on the ground, such as dismantling weapons depots and tunnel networks, must be documented, he said.

The ceasefire monitoring mechanism allows the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon to support the army's documentation efforts on the ground, two sources familiar with the matter said.

French contingents are also expected to participate in the documentation effort.

As officials gathered for talks, multiple Israeli strikes hit towns in southern Lebanon and areas of the Bekaa Valley on Thursday, Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported.

The Israeli army said it struck Hezbollah targets in several areas, including a military complex used for training, weapons storage and artillery launches, and claimed the activity violated understandings between Israel and Lebanon and posed a threat to Israel.

It also claimed to have struck a Hezbollah militant in the Taybeh area of southern Lebanon. Commenting on the attacks, Parliament Speaker and leader of Hezbollah's ally, the Amal Movement, Nabih Berri, said the attacks were an ‘Israeli message’ to the Paris conference, NNA added.

Israeli attacks have killed some 340 people since the ceasefire began. Israel also maintains troops in five border areas in southern Lebanon that it considers strategic.