Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji met Tuesday with Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Helen McEntee and thanked her for “her country's role in the UNIFIL forces and the sacrifices made by its soldiers.”

“We agreed on the necessity of maintaining an international presence in the South, and we discussed the role that the European Union, whose presidency her country currently holds, can play,” Rajji said in a post on X.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Gebran Bassil has cautioned that "the upcoming phase carries significant risks for Lebanon and the region," warning of the potential escalation of Israeli attacks and the repercussions of Hezbollah entering a new war.

“There is fear that any vacuum in the South as a result of UNIFIL's departure could have negative repercussions on stability in the region

President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday told the visiting Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Helen McEntee that "Lebanon desires the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to continue its operational mission during the upcoming year designated for its withdrawal under the Security Council resolution.”

A U.S. State Department spokesman has snapped back at Druze leader Walid Jumblat over remarks voiced in his latest interview.

“In keeping with his long record, Walid Jumblat will do and say whatever is best for Walid Jumblat, with little regard for principle, his own constituency, or the future of his country,” the spokesman said.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has called for dialogue among Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah and right-wing parties, stressing that it is not possible to annihilate the Shiites who are also Lebanese.

"You cannot annihilate them or tell them to go away," he told his interviewer on Sunday. "Maybe they (Hezbollah) have got weaker but they're still there. Dialogue is the only solution," he said.

MP Hassan Fadlallah announced Monday that Iran has not asked Hezbollah to intervene militarily if a new war is waged on the Islamic republic.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran did not ask us in the past, nor today, to support it in confronting the American-Israeli aggression,” Fadlallah said.

President Joseph Aoun stated Saturday from the Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli that "Tripoli has the capacity to be a model of convergence, cooperation, and looking toward the future."

"What I hope for is that we make this visit a milestone to strengthen trust between the state and the city’s residents," said Aoun in the impoverished northern city.

An Israeli strike targeted Friday the Ali al-Taher ridge while artillery shelled the outskirts of Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh in southern Lebanon.

Forces set forests ablaze in al-Qantara on Friday and carried out detonations in al-Khiam overnight.

There is “no U.S.-Turkey proposal concerning Lebanon,” nor are there “any U.S.-backed proposals to change the structure of Lebanese politics established by the Taif Accords,” U.S. State Department Spokesman Tommy Pigott has said, in response to a media report in this regard.

“The United States remains fully committed to working with Lebanon and Israel on the Trilateral Framework to end the cycle of conflict once and for all by implementing its key pillars:

Cabinet decided Thursday in a session at the presidential palace to postpone referring Hezbollah's explosives case to the Judicial Council until investigations are concluded, prompting Lebanese Forces ministers to walk out of the session in protest.

Local media reported on Thursday and Friday that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had advised Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun against referring the case to the Judicial Council — the country’s highest criminal court for national security issues — to avoid a confrontation with Hezbollah.