President Joseph Aoun told a non-official EU summit in Cyprus on Friday that Lebanon has engaged in a diplomatic negotiation process under the auspices of the U.S. and with the support of the European Union and Arab states in order to "reach a sustainable solution that puts an end to Israeli aggression and leads to a complete Israeli withdrawal ... enabling the state to extend its authority over all its territory."

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, announced on Friday that an Indonesian blue helmet died in hospital of wounds suffered on March 29 in an attack on his base.

UNIFIL deplored the passing of Pramudia, who was critically injured following a projectile explosion in his base in Adchit Al Qusayr on the night of 29 March.

Hezbollah shot down one an Israeli drone in south Lebanon on Friday, hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group was extended.

Hezbollah stated that its fighters launched a surface-to-air missile that shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over the Tyre region.

Air defense systems were activated in parts of Tehran on Thursday evening amid reports of hostile aerial activity, Iranian state media said in the first such reports since a ceasefire began.

The IRNA state news agency said the "sound of air defense firing" was heard in western Tehran, while the Mehr news agency reported that the systems were activated in several parts of the capital to counter "hostile targets", without elaborating further.

Tonight's second round of preparatory direct talks between Lebanon and Israel will be held at the White House instead of the State Department, Lebanese TV networks said.

The meeting is scheduled for 11:00 pm Beirut time (8:00 pm GMT).

Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held talks on Thursday, discussing the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, "particularly Israel's continued aggression against Lebanon, including its ongoing systematic destruction of border villages," Berri's office said.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil suggested Thursday that Hezbollah "has lost its internal legitimacy" and "its justification for

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to scale back its demands and end its military invasion of the country.

MP George Adwan said Thursday at a press conference held by the Strong Republic bloc in parliament that "what happened over the past two years is that a certain faction dragged Lebanon into a war in support of Gaza, and the result was the destruction of Gaza and hundreds of thousands of martyrs. This was in addition to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and the signing of the agreement in November 2024."

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Thursday that negotiations are a necessity, not a concession, after he met President Joseph Aoun in Baabda ahead of a second session of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington.

"Negotiations are the only path toward ending wars and destruction, on behalf of all Lebanese people," al-Rahi said, adding that any infringement upon Lebanon's sovereignty, independence, or the rights of its people is "unacceptable."