Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has said that Lebanon has not received any “foreign warnings” regarding a possible new Israeli war on it, adding that Lebanon is required to monopolize arms, which is a “key file” in the country.

“The army has made major achievements as to arms monopolization, and this matter cannot be completed with the press of a button and requires patience,” Bou Saab told LBCI television.

The Lebanese Army has made “key achievements” in disarming Hezbollah in the area north of the Litani River while keeping its moves confidential, seeing as some sites were labeled as “military secrets,” a ministerial source said.

“This indicates that the spread of arms on Lebanese territory has become under monitoring and pursuit, regardless of the side that owns it,” the source told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri accused Thursday the Lebanese government of ignoring the residents of the southern border villages, claiming that the Raouche light show has taken much more attention from the government than rebuilding the war-hit villages in order for the residents to return home.

"Unfortunately, (the government is acting) as if the South is not part of Lebanon," Berri decried, adding that the 2026 budget will not pass if it does not include a clear clause related to the reconstruction.

The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell, has hosted a reception in honor of the Minister of Social Affairs (MoSA) Haneen Sayed and a visiting research team from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex, reaffirming the United Kingdom’s "strong and long-standing partnership with Lebanon on social protection and gender equality," the British embassy said.

The event brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including Members of Parliament from the UK and Lebanon, local and regional partners, civil society representatives, journalists, and advocates, to celebrate "ongoing collaboration and shared priorities in advancing an inclusive social protection system in Lebanon."

Benny Wexler, an ultra-Orthodox Israeli with foreign citizenship who has visited over 100 countries, has disguised his identity to tour the Lebanese capital's Dahieh district and the city’s last remaining synagogue.

Fearing discovery, Wexler took extreme precautions to conceal his Israeli identity. “From the moment I realized I was flying to Beirut, the fear kicked in. I couldn’t sleep at night and had to take medication for the headaches,” he said. “I booked my flight through an American travel agent so my Israeli IP address wouldn’t be detected,” he added, according to Israel’s Ynet news portal.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned Thursday against Israel's possible reneging on an overnight Gaza ceasefire deal, accusing it of having a history of disrespecting all agreements, including the November ceasefire deal with Lebanon.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has kept up almost daily attacks on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, and has also maintained troops in five areas of southern Lebanon it deems "strategic".

Lebanon has arrested 32 people in recent months on suspicion of providing Israel with information on Hezbollah that facilitated strikes on the group, a judicial official told AFP on Thursday.

More than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah including two months of open war saw Israel pummel the group's arsenal and kill a slew of senior commanders, and it has kept up strikes even after a November truce.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar has appointed judicial investigators into several political assassinations that took place in Lebanon as part of his steps to put an end to impunity, the National News Agency said.

Below is the list of the appointed investigators:

President Joseph Aoun on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, expressing hope that this agreement will constitute a first step towards a permanent ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people.

Aoun urged the international and regional communities to keep pushing for a "comprehensive and just peace" in the region, "that would guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative approved by the Arab Summit in Beirut in 2002."

Christian Turner, recently appointed as the UK’s next Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, has concluded a two-day visit to Lebanon, the British embassy said on Wednesday. This is part of his regional engagement ahead of assuming his new role in January.