The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Friday that a series of Israeli strikes on south Lebanon Thursday were in the peacekeepers' area of operations, warning Lebanese actors against "any reaction that could aggravate the situation further."

UNIFIL condemned in a statement the strikes as "clear violations of Security Council resolution 1701" and urged the Israeli army to avail of the liaison and coordination mechanisms available to them.

President Joseph Aoun has said the next round of talks with Israel will begin on December 19, calling the reaction to initial negotiations this week "positive".

"It is natural that the first session would not be highly productive, but it paved the way for upcoming sessions that will begin on the 19th of this month," he said, according to information minister Paul Morcos at the end of a cabinet meeting Thursday.

The Trump administration has been tying to foster dialogue between Israel and Lebanon for nine months, U.S. news portal Axios has reported, hours after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first talks in decades under the auspices of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

A U.S. official told Axios the U.S. hoped Wednesday’s meeting would help de-escalate tensions between the two sides and help to avoid a resumption of the war in Lebanon.

Israeli raids hit south Lebanon on Thursday after Israel's military issued an evacuation warning and said it would strike what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure.

Israeli warplanes launched a strike on the town of Mahrouna while other raids targeted houses in Jbaa, Baraashit and Majadel, the official National News Agency said, while the Israeli army said it "began conducting strikes on Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon".

The Lebanese Army on Thursday refuted Iranian allegations about the affiliation and loyalty of some of its soldiers.

“The Army Command categorically denies these reports and affirms that all its members adhere to a clear and unwavering military doctrine and are completely loyal to the military institution and the country,” it said in a statement.

Iraq's central bank on Thursday said the appearance of Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis on a frozen assets list was a mistake, and ordered the correction of the official announcement, according to a document seen by AFP.

An official gazette issue dated November 17 published a decision about Iraq freezing the assets of Iran-backed armed groups due to acts of "terrorism".

With “heartfelt respect,” U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa on Thursday extended his appreciation to “the Government and people of Lebanon for the gracious welcome offered to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV during his recent visit.”

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut said the inclusion of Lebanese and Israeli civilian officials in the U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring committee, known as the Mechanism, can lead to “durable peace.”

“Senior officials convened for the 14th iteration of the Pentalateral on December 3 in Naqoura to assess ongoing efforts to reach an enduring cessation of hostilities arrangement in Lebanon,” the Embassy said.

Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives met for the first time in decades on Wednesday under the auspices of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

The two sides met at the U.N. peacekeeping force's headquarters in Lebanon's Naqoura near the border with Israel, where the guarantors of the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah regularly convene.

A United Nations Security Council delegation will visit Lebanon on Friday and Saturday after visiting Syria in the first-ever visit to the country.

Slovenian U.N. ambassador Samuel Zbogar told a press conference on Monday that "the visit to Lebanon is the first official visit of the Security Council to the Middle East in six years".