The Cypriot government has expressed its readiness to be part of the mediations for the release of the Israel-held Lebanese captives, in continuation of its part in the mediation that led to the release of Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov who was kidnapped in Iraq, Lebanese sources informed on the negotiations said.

“Through a lightning visit to Beirut and a meeting with a prominent security official following up on the file, Cypriot intelligence chief Tasos Tzionis carried his country’s desire to continue the mediation it had started,” the sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

U.S. envoy Morgan Ortgus will pressure the Lebanese army command to accelerate the implementation of its plan to disarm Hezbollah north and south of the Litani River as she visits Lebanon this weekend, media reports said Friday.

Al-Binaa said that, according to sources, Ortgus will arrive Saturday in Lebanon to meet with the five-member ceasefire monitoring committee -- France, the U.S., Lebanon, Israel, and the UNIFIL -- over the disarmament plan and its implementation. She will not meet with Lebanese leaders and politicians, the daily said.

An Israeli drone strike targeted Friday a car at the entrance of the Tebnin government hospital in south Lebanon.

The strike killed one person and wounded 11 others, including two critically, according to the Health Ministry.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson said that “if Lebanon continues down the path it is on now, it can shine with the light of new beginnings.”

“With historic cabinet decisions in August and September to disarm all non-state groups in the country, the Lebanese government has a historic opportunity to reclaim Lebanon’s sovereignty for the Lebanese people,” Johnson noted, in a speech during a reception marking the 249th anniversary of the U.S. Independence Day.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday responded statements by Speaker Nabih Berri about the electoral law.

“You’ve said that Amal and Hezbollah cannot manage their electoral campaigns abroad and freely practice their electoral rights without facing harassment, in order to justify your rejection of expats voting abroad for the 128 seats. Accordingly, you are clinging to the six districts mentioned in the current law for expat voting,” Geagea said.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) condemned Friday Israeli air strikes on five towns in southern Lebanon.

"Last night’s strikes by Israel in south Lebanon are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and put the fragile stability that has been built since November of last year at risk. They further undermine civilians' confidence that a non-violent solution to this conflict is possible," UNIFIL said in a statement, adding that peacekeepers continue to support both parties in their implementation of resolution 1701 and that UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army are on the ground each day, working to restore stability to the south and along the Blue Line.

The Lebanese army, tasked to draw up a plan to disarm Hezbollah, said Thursday that the Israeli strikes on south Lebanon risk slowing down Hezbollah's disarmament.

"These assaults and violations obstruct the army's deployment in the south, and their continuation will hinder the implementation of its plan starting from the area south of the Litani River," the army said in a statement, adding that the attacks brought Israel's ceasefire "violations" to 4,500.

President Joseph Aoun met Friday in Baabda with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and discussed with him the latest Israeli attacks on south Lebanon and the Bekaa and the ongoing contacts to address these developments, the Presidency said.

Aoun and Salam also tackled the 2026 draft state budget and the general situations, ahead of the president’s travel on Saturday to New York to take part in the annual meetings of the U.N. General Assembly.

President Joseph Aoun has condemned the Israeli air strikes on five towns in southern Lebanon and "the silence of the countries who had sponsored" the ceasefire, which he said "encourages further aggression".

"The time has come to put an immediate end to these blatant violations of Lebanon's sovereignty," he said.