Israeli artillery shelled Wednesday Majdalzoun, al-Mansouri and Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, after forces carried out detonations overnight in the southern border towns of Khiam, Tallousa and Bani Hayyan.

Anxious Israelis were meanwhile watching election results take shape after the highest turnout in over a quarter-century.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat told L'Orient-Le Jour that neither the Lebanese Parliament nor the Cabinet was consulted before the signing of a tripartite framework deal with Israel.

"I have the right to express my opinion," he said, in an interview on Tuesday.

The Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces has identified three young men from Hezbollah who were escorting the Dahr al-Baidar explosives shipment aboard a Kia vehicle, MTV reported.

According to the report, the three men fled toward Beirut after the explosives vehicle was intercepted at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint.

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji met Tuesday with Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Helen McEntee and thanked her for “her country's role in the UNIFIL forces and the sacrifices made by its soldiers.”

“We agreed on the necessity of maintaining an international presence in the South, and we discussed the role that the European Union, whose presidency her country currently holds, can play,” Rajji said in a post on X.

A senior Lebanese security source has commented on the growing speculation that Hezbollah has begun restoring its military capabilities to offset the losses it had incurred while supporting Gaza and Iran.

The source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that these claims are deliberately exaggerated. He explained that the party's current activities are strictly limited to fortifying its remaining defensive outposts, which would allow it to hold its ground should Israel choose to expand its security buffer by striking the highlands between Iqlim al-Tuffah and Jabal al-Rihan.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Gebran Bassil has cautioned that "the upcoming phase carries significant risks for Lebanon and the region," warning of the potential escalation of Israeli attacks and the repercussions of Hezbollah entering a new war.

“There is fear that any vacuum in the South as a result of UNIFIL's departure could have negative repercussions on stability in the region

President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday told the visiting Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Helen McEntee that "Lebanon desires the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to continue its operational mission during the upcoming year designated for its withdrawal under the Security Council resolution.”

A U.S. State Department spokesman has snapped back at Druze leader Walid Jumblat over remarks voiced in his latest interview.

“In keeping with his long record, Walid Jumblat will do and say whatever is best for Walid Jumblat, with little regard for principle, his own constituency, or the future of his country,” the spokesman said.

Tehran has informed Hezbollah that it does not want its participation in any upcoming war that may be waged by the U.S. and Israel, sources close to Hezbollah said.

The sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel on Tuesday that Iran "does not need anyone to support it in any potential war because it possesses the necessary capabilities," emphasizing that "the Iranians have not asked the party to participate in any upcoming war."

It is “not true” that Hezbollah gave guarantees that it would not enter the war if a confrontation broke out between Iran and the United States and Israel, a senior Hezbollah official has been quoted as saying.

"We have not given, and will not give, guarantees to anyone in this regard, because the decision of whether or not to enter the war is linked to what happens on the battlefield and what the Israeli enemy might do. Therefore, there is no benefit in confirming or denying this matter," al-Liwaa newspaper quoted the official as saying in remarks published Monday.