Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has addressed fresh criticism to Hezbollah in a video that has circulated on social networking websites.

Preliminary leaks indicate that Nawaf Salam’s government will comprise five representatives of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement (five portfolios, including finance).

The past two days witnessed the first direct communication between Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and Hezbollah, after such contacts used to be conducted through Speaker Nabih Berri, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert today began a visit to Israel, where she is set to meet with senior Israeli officials.

Her discussions will focus on steps being taken towards the implementation of the cessation of hostilities understanding, which came into force on 27 November 2024, as well as on remaining challenges.

A week after Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam was tasked with forming the new government, meetings and contacts have intensified to reach a cabinet line-up in a swift manner, perhaps prior to the Israeli army’s Jan. 27 deadline for withdrawing from the south, media reports said.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said a "more hopeful" future awaits Lebanon after meeting its new leaders in a two-day visit ahead of a deadline for implementing a fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

The United States has announced it would donate more than $117 million in security assistance for Lebanon's armed forces, as the crisis-hit country seeks to implement a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanese authorities are holding two U.S. citizens on suspicion of gathering information in Beirut's southern suburbs, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, officials said.

The U.S. citizens were carrying cameras and smartphones, and drew the suspicion of Hezbollah members who detained them before handing them over to Lebanon’s military intelligence for questioning. That’s according to two Lebanese judicial officials and a security official.

The U.N. peacekeeping chief says Lebanon's armed forces have significantly increased their deployment in the south near the border with Israel over the past two months.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix spoke to the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing from Beirut.

Lebanon's new president said on Saturday Israel must withdraw from the country's south by the January 26 deadline set to fully implement the terms of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreed last year.