Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said Thursday that Israel has not achieved its goals in Lebanon, accusing the U.S. of obstructing the reconstruction of war-hit regions.

Fadlallah said that even though the balance of power has shifted in the region and in Lebanon, the resistance is still protecting the South despite Israeli plans of occupying it and transforming it to a buffer zone.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has reassured that the parliamentary elections will take place on time but only in Lebanon, in defiance to sixty-five MPs from the parliamentary majority who want to amend the electoral law to include voting from outside Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Amal argue that they do not enjoy the same campaigning freedom that other parties enjoy abroad and are objecting the amendment of the current law, which only allows expats to vote for six newly-introduced seats in parliament.

President Joseph Aoun announced Thursday that he is “entrusted with this country.”

“I am ready to do anything that contributes to its welfare, fends off war and secures the liberation of the South and reconstruction,” Aoun added, in a Baabda meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Communist Party.

Nine Tannourine Mineral Water samples sent to the state-run Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute have tested free of bacteria and authorities are awaiting results from the state-run Industrial Research Institute and the American University of Beirut in order to take the appropriate decision, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said on Thursday.

The Health Ministry had on Monday suspended Tannourine and ordered its products pulled from shelves after samples tested positive for the pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Thursday, as he visited the southern port city of Saida, that the government is keen on reconstructing the war-hit areas but its capabilities are limited.

"I am confident that we will succeed in holding two international conferences to drum up aid for developmental and reconstruction," Salam said, adding that his project is "to restore the state, and the trust of the (Lebanese) people".

The UK Defense Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa (DSAME), Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren, concluded Wednesday a two-day visit to Lebanon. He met with Lebanese leaders, UNIFIL Commander and visited a newly constructed Protected Border Observation Post (PBOP) on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria.

The visit underscores the UK’s ongoing commitment to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in enhancing its ability to secure Lebanon’s borders and respond swiftly to threats, including smuggling and illegal cross-border activity, the British Embassy said. The new Protected Border Observation Post is part of a broader UK Integrated Security Fund program to strengthen Lebanon’s border infrastructure and reinforce the LAF’s operational capability including in border areas.

An Israeli drone has targeted a Renault Rapid car on the Siddiqin-Kafra road in the South, causing casualties

Pope Leo XIV will carry a message of peace to Lebanon and the Christians of the Middle East when he visits next month, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi told AFP on Wednesday.

The Vatican said last week that Pope Leo will travel to Turkey and Lebanon in a six-day trip beginning late November, his first since becoming head of the Catholic Church.

The Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that it has submitted to the government an urgent draft law for the abolition of Articles 112 and 122 of the electoral law, which limit the representation of expats to six newly-introduced seats.

The United States has welcomed President Joseph Aoun’s latest remarks on Lebanon’s readiness to engage in negotiations with Israel to resolve the outstanding issues, senior Lebanese diplomatic sources have said.

The U.S. is “readying to activate its mediation between Lebanon and Israel in the coming period, especially as its new ambassador Michel Issa begins his work in Beirut,” the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.