Spotlight
The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program on Monday announced a reward of up to $10 million for information on “Hezbollah financial networks in South America.”

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced that he agreed with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on practical steps to “end the plight of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon.”

Dialogue between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah over the latter’s remaining weapons is ongoing behind the scenes, a diplomatic source from the five-nation group for Lebanon said.

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad warned Monday that “the military, political and financial pressures that Lebanon is facing are expected to escalate,” noting that some sides mistakenly think that “their escalation will push the Lebanese people to surrender.”

A list backed by most political parties won all 24 seats of Beirut's municipality on Sunday, maintaining Christian-Muslim parity on the capital’s municipal council.
Political rivals such as Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces came together to form the list, arguing that such a temporary coalition was necessary to preserve equal Christian-Muslim power-sharing.

President Joseph Aoun met Monday with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Heliopolis Palace in Cairo, a day after he attended the inauguration Mass of the new Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City.
In Rome, Aoun held talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

An Israeli drone strike on Sunday targeted Renault Rapid car near an army checkpoint in the southern town of Beit Yahoun, wounding two people including a soldier, the Health Ministry said.

Lebanon held the third round of municipal and mayoral elections on Sunday, amid concerns over Christian representation in Beirut’s municipal council.

At an Arab summit in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced "daily Israeli violations" of Lebanese sovereignty and "the ongoing Israeli occupation of positions" in the South.
He said Lebanon was working to "fully implement" a United Nations Security Council resolution that formed the basis of the ceasefire.

Israel's army said it killed a local Hezbollah commander on Saturday in south Lebanon, where authorities reported one dead in the fourth Israeli strike within days despite a November ceasefire.
