Israeli air strikes hit areas of the central and western Syrian cities of Homs and Latakia late Monday, state news agency SANA reported.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam noted Monday that “Lebanon’s stability is not only a Lebanese need but also a joint Arab need,” stressing that the government “will carry on with the implementation of its decisions as to the monopolization of arms in the hands of the state across Lebanon.”

“After it returned to its natural position among its Arab brothers, Lebanon needs boosting support for the Lebanese Army, seeing as it is the main pillar for protecting the country,” Salam added.

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said Monday that the Israeli withdrawal should be the priority and not Hezbollah's disarmament, adding that "unbiased polls have showed that the majority of the Lebanese people reject the government's decision (to disarm Hezbollah)."

Fayyad assured that the army, which was tasked with the disarmament plan, won't be dragged into a conflict with Hezbollah. "The Lebanese army is keen on maintaining unity and peace," he said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has told Hezbollah that its problem will not be with a party but rather with the state and the army, if it insists on keeping its arms.

"We will no longer accept non-Lebanese decisions or allow one group to control the fate of the Lebanese people. Lebanon comes first, above all else," the christian leader said, days after Cabinet approved a plan prepared by the army to monopolize weapons in the war-hit country.

U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to a Lebanese reporter’s question about Hezbollah’s perceived refusal to turn in its weapons to the Lebanese state.

Prominent Lebanese journalist and talk show host Walid Abboud on Monday received threats to his life through a number of flyers that were thrown around his house in Keserwan.

A wave of Israeli airstrikes on Monday targeted several mountainous areas in the Baalbek-Hermel region, killing five people and wounding five others, the Health Ministry said.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, confirmed four of the five killed were group members.

Speaker Nabih Berri met with President Joseph Aoun on Monday at the Baabda Palace.

“With the blessings of the Virgin Mary, everything is good,” Berri told reporters as he left the palace.

The U.S.-led ceasefire monitoring committee convened Sunday in Ras al-Naqoura in the presence of U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said “things are positive,” after Cabinet on Friday welcomed the Lebanese Army’s plan for the disarmament of Hezbollah and all armed groups in the country.