Celebrating the role of Lebanese media in reform and accountability, British Ambassador Hamish Cowell and Canadian Ambassador Stefanie McCollum co-hosted a reception to reaffirm "the essential role of a free media in Lebanon," the British embassy said.

The event brought together journalists, civil society representatives, diplomats, and advocates to recognize the "indispensable role that a free and independent press plays in holding power to account, to reaffirm its essential part in Lebanon’s reform agenda, and safeguarding democratic societies," the embassy said in a statement.

President Joseph Aoun voted Saturday in his southern hometown al-Aishiyeh in the fourth and final round of the country’s municipal and mayoral elections.

Former U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein has said that a land border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel is "within reach."

Hochstein told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that a deal is possible "but there has to be political willingness".

U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus is scheduled to visit Lebanon in two weeks, sources told LBCI television on Friday.

Al-Akhbar newspaper had reported Thursday that the presidency has been informed of the postponement of Ortagus' visit from May to June, adding that the reason might be President Joseph Aoun's busy schedule.

The disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon will begin next month based on an accord with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Lebanese government official told AFP on Friday.

The Lebanese and Palestinian sides agreed on starting a plan "to remove weapons from the camps, beginning mid-June in the Beirut camps, and other camps will follow," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.

Long-time foes Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement both welcomed an agreement between Lebanese and Palestinian leaders to disarm Palestinian camps.

LF leader Samir Geagea said Thursday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has always worked towards maintaining "healthy Lebanese-Palestinian ties" and later called Abbas to discuss the latest developments with him and praise his stance on the camps' disarmament.

Conflicting reports have emerged on whether the Lebanese state has obtained U.S. guarantees that Israel would not threaten the safety of the municipal and mayoral polls that will be held Saturday in south Lebanon.

Despite a rise in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon in recent days, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has called on supporters to go out to municipal polls in the country’s south and secure a "resounding" victory.

Hezbollah is “trying to regain its strength in Lebanon” and Israel will keep targeting it across across the country “with a U.S. cover,” an Israeli security source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath television.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Israel’s attacks "will not deter the state from its commitment to the electoral process,", after Israel carried out strikes on multiple areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday, some far from the border, only two days before municipal elections are slated to take place in south Lebanon.

Salam called for more international pressure to make Israel stop bombing his country.