UNIFIL said Friday that its troops conducted last month a geospatial survey of a concrete T-wall erected by the Israeli army southwest of the Lebanese border town of Yaroun.

“The survey confirmed that the wall crossed the Blue Line, rendering more than 4,000 square meters of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the Lebanese people,” UNIFIL said in a statement.

The situations in the South “will change with the presence of the army,” whose strength “stems from its legitimacy and people’s embracement and firm confidence,” President Joseph Aoun said on Friday.

“The order for the army to confront any Israeli land incursion was aimed at sending a message to everyone that the army has become in charge of decisions in the South and is tasked with protecting it,” the president added.

French President's advisor Anne-Claire Legendre met Friday with Hezbollah's head of Arab and International Relations Ammar al-Moussawi, al-Manar TV said.

Legendre and al-Moussawi discussed Israel's violations of a ceasefire agreement reached in November last year, with al-Moussawi urging France to pressure Israel to halt its attacks.

As Lebanon prepares for its 2026 Parliamentary elections, a debate over the voting law drags on with many MPs forming a parliamentary majority pushing for amending the law to allow a large Lebanese diaspora to vote for the 128 seats.

Earlier this month, cabinet approved to send an urgent draft law demanding the amendment to Parliament, after Speaker Nabih Berri refused to discuss it in a legislative session, prompting the LF and Kataeb MPs to boycott it.

MENA adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, Anne-Claire Legendre, has reaffirmed during her visit to Lebanon France's commitment to hold a conference in support of the Lebanese army in Riyadh.

Legendre said France and Saudi Arabia are discussing Lebanon's progress in implementing the government's plan to disarm Hezbollah.

Former PSP leader Walid Jumblat criticized a proposition by Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel to introduce Lebanon's neutrality into the Lebanese constitution.

"Before we amend the constitution, hold on, will Israel withdraw from the occupied (Lebanese) territories?" Jumblat asked Thursday on the X platform.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has welcomed a plan by Saudi Arabia to bolster commercial ties with Lebanon, saying that he is "very thankful for the Kingdom's kind initiative".

"We highly value Saudi Arabia's appreciation for the efforts of President Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese government in preventing drug smuggling to our Arab neighbors," Salam said, after a senior Saudi official announced that his country plans to imminently bolster commercial ties with Lebanon after Lebanese authorities demonstrated efficacy curbing drug smuggling to the kingdom over the past months.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has lamented that the Lebanese government has shown “no perseverance” and “no determination” to disarm Hezbollah.

“There is no determination. There is no clearness, there is no perseverance. From time to time, there are some declarations, and everybody knows that these declarations are like empty declarations,” Geagea said in English in an interview with the UAE’s The National newspaper.

MENA adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron met Thursday in Lebanon with President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri amid increased pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.

Anne-Claire Legendre discussed with the two leaders economic reforms that the international community is demanding crisis-hit Lebanon to implement in order to unlock financial aid. She also discussed a ceasefire reached last year with Israel, Hezbollah's disarmament, and decreasing Israel's military pressure on Lebanon, local media reports said.

The Israeli Air Force is working on reducing the response time of helicopter gunships deployed in north Israel over fears of a potential Hezbollah attack, Israel’s Maariv newspaper has reported.

“The army’s measures are aimed at providing an instant response to any infiltration of attempted attack against the border settlements, and at preventing a scenario similar to what happened in Gaza’s envelope,” Maariv added.