Naim Kassem, leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, said the government should have instead "spread its authority and evicted Israel from Lebanon."

The Lebanese government has asked the national army to prepare a plan to ensure only state institutions have weapons by the end of the year.

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.