President Joseph Aoun revealed Wednesday that he has told Hezbollah that “the rhetoric of war does not solve the problem,” adding that Hezbollah is not operating in the South Litani area.

Explaining why he has called for negotiations with Israel, Aoun said: “If we lack the ability to go to war, war has led us into tragedies, and there is a wave of settlements in the region, what can we do?”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday responded to Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem’s speech, stressing that U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, the 2024 ceasefire agreement and the Lebanese government’s decisions call for disarming Hezbollah across Lebanon and not only south of the Litani River.

Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel said Wednesday that Hezbollah's weapons are now a threat to the Lebanese people, after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said that there is no danger on the residents of north Israel, urging it to withdraw from south Lebanon.

"If the arms do not threaten the northern settlements according to Sheikh Naim's latest statement, then they have certainly become a tool to intimidate and pressure the Lebanese, and sway the elections."

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri urged Wednesday the ceasefire monitoring committee and member states (the U.S. and France) to stop Israel's attacks and occupation, and called on the Lebanese to stay united in the face of the Israeli aggression.

Despite a ceasefire reached in November last week, Israel has kept up its near-daily attacks on south and east Lebanon and is occupying five hills it deems "strategic" in the south.

The Lebanese Army has completed 95 percent of a plan to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani river, official sources told al-Binaa newspaper.

Since a ceasefire was reached with Israel last year, the United States has increased pressure on Lebanese authorities to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Tuesday reassured Israel over the “security” of its northern settlements, as he warned it against continuing its attacks in Lebanon.

“Israel and America want to interfere in Lebanon's future -- in its army, economy and policies. They are exerting pressure because they believe that the (ceasefire) agreement gives Lebanon gains,” said Qassem in a televised speech marking Hezbollah’s ‘Martyr Day’.

A high-ranking U.S. Treasury delegation that visited Beirut Monday pushed Lebanese officials to crack down on the flow of funding to Hezbollah. Local and western media outlets reported a list of demands conveyed by the delegation.

1. Shutting down Hezbollah-affiliated al-Qard al-Hasan, a nonprofit organization operating outside the Lebanese financial system as a quasi-bank.

President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday that Lebanon has asked friendly countries to pressure Israel to abide by a ceasefire agreement reached in late November last year.

"So far we have not reached a result," Aoun said from Sofia where he met with Bulgarian officials.

An Israeli army force detonated Tuesday at dawn four houses in the southern border town of Aitaroun in south Lebanon.

A force had also detonated houses in Houla on Monday, with the Israeli army saying that the "buildings were used by Hezbollah."

Israeli warplanes on Monday waged two waves of airstrikes on the heights of Jabal al-Rafih, al-Jarmaq, al-Wadi al-Akhdar and al-Mahmoudiyeh in south Lebanon.

Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of al-Nabi Sheet and the al-Shaara area in the Baalbek district near Syria’s border. A drone strike meanwhile hit a pickup truck in the nearby Hermel region, causing no casualties.