The U.N. Security Council met behind closed doors Friday and discussed a request by Lebanon’s government to extend the mandate for the 8,100-member UNIFIL force, which is supposed to end on Dec. 31, two diplomats with knowledge of the discussion said.

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.

A settlement is being negotiated behind the scenes concerning the Ali al-Taher hill, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday.

“This settlement, involving the Americans and Israelis on one side, and the Iranians and Hezbollah on the other, stipulates the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard fighters from the hill and the entry of Lebanese Army units,” the daily said.

The reports about a possible meeting between U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and officials from Hezbollah are baseless and there is no intention for any communication, diplomatic sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel on Friday.

MTV had reported overnight that Issa had obtained a green light from his administration for meeting a figure from Hezbollah.

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.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said Thursday during a multi-front situation assessment that numerous challenges remain before Israel.

Noting that Israel is “conducting combat operations on all fronts, from Iran and Lebanon to Gaza,” Zamir adding that the army is also “maintaining a high state of readiness due to the potential for escalation on multiple fronts.”