Chief among those groups is Hezbollah. The Shiite group’s iconic figurehead, Hassan Nasrallah, remains Hezbollah’s leader in spirit. “We absolutely must keep fighting,” said Ali Nassif, a restaurant owner in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. “We must honor his martyrdom.” When Israel killed Nasrallah in Dahiyeh last September—striking an underground command center with dozens of bunker-busting munitions—this shattered the group’s sense of pride and invincibility, but Hezbollah remains defiant.

BEIRUT—The new Lebanese government, elected and formed in the aftermath of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah last year, is pursuing an audacious U.S.-backed plan to disarm all nonstate armed groups in Lebanon.

BEIRUT—The new Lebanese government, elected and formed in the aftermath of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah last year, is pursuing an audacious U.S.-backed plan to disarm all nonstate armed groups in Lebanon.

Chief among those groups is Hezbollah. The Shiite group’s iconic figurehead, Hassan Nasrallah, remains Hezbollah’s leader in spirit. “We absolutely must keep fighting,” said Ali Nassif, a restaurant owner in Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut. “We must honor his martyrdom.” When Israel killed Nasrallah in Dahiyeh last September—striking an underground command center with dozens of bunker-busting munitions—this shattered the group’s sense of pride and invincibility, but Hezbollah remains defiant.

The group’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said there would be “no life” in Lebanon should the government attempt to confront or eliminate Hezbollah. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called this a “veiled threat of civil war.” Hezbollah has been adamant that it will not discuss disarmament while Israel is still occupying and bombing parts of Lebanon.

In early August, the Trump administration presented Lebanon with a phased disarmament plan, under which Israel would cease attacks on its territory and withdraw from five positions in southern Lebanon. On Aug.