Meeting with the visiting U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has stresses the need for Lebanon to free itself from perceived Iranian influence.

Cautious calm was on Monday engulfing the southern coastal town of al-Aqbiyeh after a clash between Lebanese citizens and Syrian nationals on Sunday, the National News Agency said.

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji took part in a meeting in Jordan for Syria’s neighbors during which the conferees discussed how to assist the Syrian people in rebuilding their country in a manner that guarantees its unity, sovereignty, security and stability.

Thousands of Syrians from the unrest-hit coastal area have fled to neighboring Lebanon, mostly through unofficial crossings, after around 1,000 people were killed there in clashes and massacres, mostly civilians.

The U.N. refugee agency said in a statement that according to local authorities, 6,078 people have arrived in about a dozen villages in northern Lebanon's Akkar province fleeing the fighting and mass killings, while arrivals in other parts of the country were still being verified.

Israel took captive an off-duty Lebanese soldier after he was wounded Sunday in a combing operation in the southern border town of Kfarshouba, the Al-Arabiya TV network reported on Monday.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has acknowledged that arms should be exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces to “control security in Lebanon and for defense.”

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has begun a visit to Israel, where she will discuss with senior Israeli officials the Lebanon ceasefire, as well as the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

"Emphasizing the need to enhance security and stability for populations on both sides of the Blue Line, the Special Coordinator continues to call on all to prevent the establishment of a new status quo and thus to make the solutions envisaged by resolution 1701 a reality," Hennis-Plasschaert's office said.

Reports that a Syrian minor was stabbed by a Jabal Mohsen resident sparked tensions and gunfire in Tripoli overnight, prompting the army to deploy heavily, the National News Agency said.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah militant with an air strike in southern Lebanon on Saturday, as Lebanese media reported one killed and another wounded in an Israeli drone strike on a car.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he has appointed Michel Issa, a Lebanese-American, as the new U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.

"I am proud to appoint Michel Issa as our United States Ambassador to Lebanon," he wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform.