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 government and Hezbollah need to fully commit and act now in order to not consign the Lebanese people to the stumbling status quo," Barrack wrote. US Envoy Tom Barrack is back in Turkey after a recent trip to the region.

Washington is ramping up pressure on Beirut to swiftly issue a formal cabinet decision committing to disarm Hezbollah before talks can resume on a halt to Israel's military operations in Lebanon, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.