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UNIFIL chief says has 'no evidence' of Hezbollah rebuilding in south Lebanon

Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Diodato Abagnara has said that UNIFIL has no evidence that Hezbollah is rebuilding its military capabilities south of the Litani.

In an interview with Israel's Channel 12, Abagnara said that the presence of Israeli troops along the Blue Line constitutes "a flagrant" violation of U.N. resolution 1701.

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French envoy to discuss economy, security with Lebanese leaders in Beirut

French Special Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will arrive Monday in Lebanon where he will meet President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, media reports said.

Le Drian will also meet with foreign Minister Youssef Rajji and the meetings will discuss economic and security matters.

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Aoun says only negotiations have chance to achieve goals

Negotiations have a much higher chance of ending the Israeli violations than staying locked in one place, President Joseph Aoun told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Monday.

Aoun's comments come as Lebanon and Israel moved toward direct negotiations

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Al-Rahi lauds Aoun, says negotiations better than war

Maronite Patriarch Beshra al-Rahi said Monday after meeting with President Joseph Aoun that the relation between Bkerki and Baabda is very good and negotiations with Israel are better than war threats.

"I have no fears (of a new war) and we are now in the time of diplomacy and negotiations," al-Rahi told reporters in a short press conference after the meeting.

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As tensions flare on Lebanon border, Israelis struggle to rebuild

Ilan Rosenfeld walks through the burnt-out shell of his former business, stepping over crackling pieces of clay plates that used to line his cafe and past metal scraps of Hezbollah rockets littering the rubble.

It's all that's left for him in this small, war-ravaged town — the northernmost in Israel, surrounded on three sides by Lebanon.

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Report: Trump, Israeli army tell Netanyahu to seek diplomacy in Lebanon, region

U.S. President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night and urged him to shift gradually from offensive operations and escalation threats in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria to diplomacy and confidence-building measures, senior officials told Israel's Ynet news portal.

"The shift, Trump argued, is necessary to advance the civilian stage of his '20-Point Plan' for Gaza and to work toward a stable, long-term end to hostilities, with the possibility of additional normalization agreements," the officials said.

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UN Security Council delegation urges all sides to stick to Lebanon truce

A United Nations Security Council delegation has urged all parties to uphold a year-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, expressing support for a state weapons monopoly at the end of a Lebanon visit.

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Army arrests six suspects who attacked UNIFIL in Bint Jbeil

The Lebanese Army on Saturday announced the arrest of six individuals accused of attacking a UNIFIL patrol in Bint Jbeil in south Lebanon.

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US lawmakers urge Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, 'by force if necessary'

A group of U.S. members of Congress have sent a letter to President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah, saying the process “must begin now, even by force if necessary.”

The lawmakers said Lebanon committed under the November 2024 ceasefire to launch a gradual process to dismantle Hezbollah’s military structure and restore state authority across the country, but argued that “empty promises and partial measures that fall short of disarmament are nowhere near enough.”

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France reportedly working on keeping int'l force on Syria border, few observers in south

France is seriously leading a project to keep UNIFIL’s international forces in Lebanon under a new mandate that includes comprehensive supervision of the Lebanese border with Syria while maintaining a limited number of observers on the southern border, informed sources said.

The recent visit of the French presidential envoy to Lebanon, Anne-Claire Legendre, was primarily aimed at offering "France's services" to sponsor a Lebanese-Syrian dialogue for the purpose of demarcating the land and sea borders between the two countries, the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper.

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