President Joseph Aoun arrived Monday in Athens for an official visit to meet with his Greek counterpart, President Konstantinos Tasoulas, at the Presidential Mansion, in efforts to secure international backing to a framework agreement with Israel and an end to hostilities in south Lebanon.

Speaking from Greece, President Aoun stated that the U.S.-sponsored framework deal should be implemented fully and bilaterally, rather than selectively or unilaterally.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Sunday warned that "any retreat" in the face of the U.S. and Israel will lead to the "annihilation" of Iran, Hezbollah, their allies, and Muslims in general.

The U.S. and Israel "act ruthlessly to dominate the world. Any resistance, regardless of the cost, will halt the enemy's advance and pave the way for us to regain our standing," Qassem said.

President Joseph Aoun on Sunday marked the 48th anniversary of the disappearance of revered Shiite cleric Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his companions by saying that he refuses to allow the South to remain a "forgotten region" or a bargaining chip.

The president added that the only legitimate weapons protecting the land should be those of the state.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson has said that "the Trilateral Framework clearly states that the Lebanese Government is the sole legitimate interlocutor for discussions about the future of Lebanon and on behalf of the Lebanese people."

"The United States stands with the Lebanese people and wants Lebanon to be a safe and sovereign country. For that to happen, Hizballah must disarm," the spokesperson added.

The Israeli government has informed the United States that the "pilot zones" plan in southern Lebanon has failed, an Israeli security source said.

Israel "believes the Lebanese army is not destroying terrorist infrastructure, despite receiving coordinates provided by the Israeli army," the source told Israeli news portal Walla.

Israeli strikes and shelling targeted overnight into Friday the strategic Ali al-Taher hill and the southern border towns of Houla, Wadi Slouqi, and al Qantara, after a violent day during which a young woman was killed.

Israeli airstrikes on the country's south on Thursday killed a newly-wed woman, as Israel's military said it struck Hezbollah targets after the Iran-backed group attacked its soldiers in the Ali al-Taher ridge with explosive drones.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in the southern town of Arab Salim killed a young woman and wounded several people on Thursday, as Israel launched a wave of airstrikes outside the so-called security zone in response to an alleged Hezbollah drone attack.

The National News Agency said the woman "had been married for 48 hours."

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa has clearly not read his comments on the U.S.-sponsored framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, after the latter accused Jumblat of changing his mind "day to day" about the agreement.

In a post in English on the X platform, Jumblat said Issa's busy schedule had prevented him from reading his comments on the "piece of paper called trilateral framework", adding that he rejects the agreement and that it should be replaced by the armistice agreement cited by the Taef accord and resolution 1701.

The next round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel will be held in Rome during the second half of September, an informed source said.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa criticized Hezbollah on Thursday, arguing that the Lebanese people broadly agree on the necessity of disarming the group despite differing approaches. "Thus, Hezbollah must hand over its arms to the state," he said.

The remarks came following a meeting with the spiritual head of the Druze community in Lebanon, Sheikh Sami Abi Al-Muna.