BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun called on Hezbollah and other political parties on Thursday to hand over their weapons to the army, a move the powerful militant group is resisting as Washington ramps up pressures for it to remove its arsenal.

The war nominally ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November calling for Hezbollah and Israeli forces to withdraw from the area south of the Litani River in Lebanon, which would be patrolled by a beefed-up Lebanese army, along with U.N. peacekeepers.

In the address, Aoun added that the country would seek $1 billion annually for 10 years to support the army and security forces in Lebanon. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun said on Thursday that Lebanese political parties need to seize the opportunity and hand over their weapons sooner rather than later,