The Progressive Socialist Party kicked off this week a series of meetings with the Lebanese political parties in a bid to break a knotty presidential impasse, few days after French special envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, left Beirut empty-handed.

In Maarab, a PSP delegation met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and MPs Ghassan Hasbani and Nazih Matta, while Former minister Ghazi Aridi held meetings with Speaker Nabih Berri and Hussein Khalil, the political aide of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of "a limited war" in Lebanon and warned it could push Iran to intervene, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official told U.S. news portal Axios.

The U.S. has indirectly asked Hezbollah to engage in the mediation efforts with Hamas in order to “reach an agreement that would stop the Gaza war and consequently the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah,” a media report said.

Hezbollah fired Thursday for the first time air defense missiles at Israeli warplanes that the group said were "breaking the sound barrier and terrorizing children."

Hezbollah said in a statement that its air defense missiles forced the warplanes to "retreat beyond the border."

Families of Israeli army reservists have faced both emotional strain and financial difficulty since October 7.

When the war started, donations poured in to support Israel's male and female reservists, who are considered a pillar of the army, and their families as their household incomes have shrunk.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, warning of the risk of a broader conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the northern border area after eight months of war with Hamas that has devastated Gaza, warned Wednesday that Israel was "prepared for a very intense operation" along the border.

Hezbollah is “dealing seriously with the threats that are being launched by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war team,” a prominent Shiite Duo source said.

Hezbollah “will not stand idly by and has declared general mobilization among its fighters, who are now fully prepared to confront the Israeli threats, although it does not want war and is not seeking it,” the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has traveled to northern Israel after an intensification of Hezbollah attacks there, warning of “tougher days” ahead, Israel’s Channel 12 has reported.

Gantz met with the mayors of several northern towns close to the frontier and told them: “Don’t complain about the present, because the future could be more problematic.”

The Syrian man who was arrested after a shooting near the U.S. embassy in Beirut on Wednesday has carried out the attack "in support of Gaza", a judicial official said.

A Lebanese national working for the embassy suffered light injuries to his eye after the assailant opened fire.

The United States has warned against an "escalation" in Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of an operation, saying conflict would only harm Israeli security.

"We don't want to see that escalation of the conflict which would just lead to further loss of life from both Israelis and the Lebanese people and would greatly harm Israel's overall security and stability in the region," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Wednesday.