A Princeton University graduate student who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2023 has been freed in a prisoners swap deal that might include Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel, local media reports said.
Israel would likely release several Iraqi prisoners held by Israel and Lebanese prisoners including Imad Amhaz, OTV and al-Jadeed said Thursday.

French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Thursday in Beirut where he met with Lebanese leaders as France prepares to organize two conferences in support of the Lebanese armed forces and of recovery and reconstruction.
Le Drian met Thursday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Syria said Thursday that its forces dismantled a cell affiliated with Lebanon's Hezbollah, a key ally of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
"Specialized units in cooperation with the general intelligence service... were able to arrest a terrorist cell belonging to the Hezbollah militia that was active" in the Damascus countryside, an interior ministry statement said, quoting a local commander.

The Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country's south on Thursday killed one person, the latest raid despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
"An Israeli enemy drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the Ain Baal-Bazouriyeh road, killing one person," the Ministry said in a statement, referring to an area in south Lebanon's Tyre district.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Wednesday that “the continuation of the resistance is a necessity for everyone” and that “it is Lebanon’s strength,” days after the Lebanese government approved a Lebanese Army plan for disarming Hezbollah and all armed groups in the country.
“We call for a return to priorities, which are ending the aggression, Israel’s withdrawal from the South, the release of the Lebanese captives, and the start of the reconstruction process,” Qassem said in a televised speech marking Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday.

President Joseph Aoun’s contacts and the army’s weapons monopolization plan “necessitated Arab and international positivity toward the proposed settlement, which reached the extent of lauding President Aoun’s wisdom in managing the current period and preserving Lebanese domestic stability,” a media report said.
“Washington in specific has shown keenness on preventing chaos in Lebanon and saw in Aoun’s proposal an excellent way to resolve the conflict between the Israeli enemy and Lebanon, as long as the objective is monopolizing arms and ending wars,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh with the deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, who was accompanied by a delegation.
“It was an opportunity for us to affirm, through our visit to His Excellency Speaker Nabih Berri, our support and endorsement of Lebanese national unity, solidarity and unity among all segments of the dear Lebanese people,” Babaei said.

The Jounieh Touristic Port was reopened Tuesday evening under the slogan "Jounieh Touristic Port... A Sea of Opportunities," under the patronage of President Joseph Aoun, who was represented by Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny, and at the invitation of MP Neemat Frem, as part of a joint initiative between the public and private sectors.
“Three generations are looking forward to this port. The sixties generation remembers the most beautiful times when Lebanon was the Switzerland of the East. There is the eighties generation, who see a different time when we could breathe towards the world only through it. Today's generation will see this port as the new, beautiful time, the new, and joyful Lebanon, a time that will attract tourists instead of ensuring the flight of citizens," Frem said in a speech.

Hamas’ representative in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi has met at the Grand Serail with the head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, Ramez Dimashqiyeh, to discuss the Palestinian situation in Lebanon, particularly the disarmament plan that has started to be implemented in the Beirut and Sour refugee camps.
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had instructed Dimashqiyeh to open channels of communication with Hamas and other factions, with the aim of involving them in the disarmament process, which has so far been limited to the Fatah Movement.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam revealed in an interview with An-Nahar newspaper that the Arab and international reactions to the September 5 cabinet session that endorsed the army’s weapons monopoly plan were “totally positive, the same as the domestic reactions to the session’s decisions.”
