The leaders of the two biggest Christian parties have both called for the state's monopoly on weapons after Hezbollah was left badly weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel.

"We've been missing a real state for 35 years," Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, said Saturday, calling for the state to have monopoly on arms and to be the sole decision maker in the country.

Former prime minister Hassan Diab appeared Friday before Judge Tarek Bitar for interrogation in the case of the 2020 catastrophic blast at Beirut’s port.

Diab arrived from abroad for the questioning and he reportedly met with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, who “advised” him to appear before Bitar in order not to be accused of obstructing the investigation.

President Joseph Aoun stressed Friday that “diplomacy is the only solution” for ending Israel’s occupation of parts of south Lebanon.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Hezbollah will not hand over its weapons before Israel fulfills its ceasefire agreement obligations.

A video circulating online shows the Lebanese Army seizing control of military posts, weapons and rockets in the southern region of al-Orqoub.

Hezbollah MP Hussein Jishi stressed Thursday that “the arms of the resistance are what liberated the land and ousted the enemy.”

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the southern villages and towns from which Israeli troops have withdrawn as Lebanon is set to hold its municipal elections next month including in the country's south, still suffering from devastation from major Israeli bombings and a ground invasion.

The Israeli strikes have not been halted by a ceasefire reached in late November and Israeli troops remain on five hills in south Lebanon that Israel deems "strategic".

A U.S. military delegation accompanied by a Lebanese Army force on Thursday inspected the al-Dabesh area on the southeastern outskirts of the southern town of Yohmor al-Shaqif, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling over the past two weeks, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani visited the Lebanese Foreign Ministry on Thursday after it summoned him over his latest remarks on disarmament.

Amani met with the ministry’s Secretary-General Ambassador Hani Chemaitelly, who informed him of “the need to abide by the diplomatic norms specified in the international treaties related to the sovereignty of nations and non-interference in their domestic affairs, topped by the Vienna Convention,” a statement said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized Wednesday Hezbollah's officials for stating that the group will not hand over its arms as long as Israeli troops are in South Lebanon.

Hezbollah's chief Sheikh Naim Qassem -- and other Hezbollah officials -- had said that Israel must completely withdraw first and stop its violations, otherwise Hezbollah "will not let anyone disarm" it.