Defense Minister Michel Menassa took aim at the Cabinet this week over its refusal to approve a pay raise for Lebanese Army personnel, criticizing what he described as chronic neglect of the military even as the government allocates substantial funds to private firms for tasks the army could perform.

“Every task and daily crisis in this country is dumped on the army’s shoulders,” Menassa said during the Cabinet session, according to ministerial sources. “That’s why I say to you: Support the army so it can support you.”

His comments came amid Cabinet deliberations on how to assess the widespread destruction caused by months of Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, which have left homes, infrastructure, and farmland in ruins.

According to sources who spoke to the Central News Agency, the Cabinet had initially considered commissioning the Lebanese Army to lead the damage assessment. However, Menassa strongly opposed the proposal, asking for the item to be removed from the agenda. He argued that conducting such assessments does not fall within the army’s mandate as defined by the National Defense Law.

Menassa's position was further backed by Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who refused to approve an increase in military salaries to match recent hikes granted to civil servants. Jaber cited the large size of the armed forces and the State’s inability to afford additional expenditures under current financial constraints.

What particularly drew Menassa’s ire, according to the sources, was the Cabinet’s subsequent decision to commission a major private company to carry out the assessment, approving a substantial budget for the project. The move sparked objections from several ministers, who questioned why similar funding could not be allocated to the army, especially given its ongoing frontline role in managing the country’s crises.