Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel met Thursday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, as Lebanon plans to disarm Hezbollah under U.S. pressure.

A harsh critic of Hezbollah, Gemayel said he rejects the marginalization of the Shiite community. "We want the Shia community to be a partner in building the new Lebanon, and this is a red line for us."

President Joseph Aoun stressed Thursday that “the decision taken by Cabinet on arms monopoly has been informed to all brotherly and friendly countries and the U.N.”

“Lebanon is committed to implementing it in a manner that preserves the interest of all Lebanese,” Aoun added, in a Baabda meeting with Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki.

Hezbollah is not against a vote in Cabinet on disarming it, local MTV news channel said, adding that according to its sources, the group is against setting a timetable for its disarmament.

Cabinet had tasked this month the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year end and tackled a U.S. proposal that includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament.

Israeli civilian Salah Abu Hussein, who had been jailed in Lebanon for the past year, was returned to Israel today, Thursday, Israel's government said.

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki met Thursday in Lebanon with President Joseph Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri.

Speaking after his talks with Aoun, Zaki said his visit is aimed at “stressing the Arab League’s support for the principle of extending the authority of the state and monopolizing weapons in its hand.”

The Israeli army targeted Thursday several areas in south Lebanon, killing at least one person.

A drone on a motorbike in Deir Seryan killed one person, the National News Agency said. Another strike later hit the outskirts of Ainata - Bint Jbeil.

A convoy of armored vehicles carrying French peacekeepers barrels through southern Lebanon. Last year's war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah left villages scarred and empty. Rubble lines the roads. Torn Lebanese flags and Hezbollah banners flutter from shattered buildings.

From a UNIFIL base above Kafr Kila, the town below looks like a wasteland of crumpled concrete. Across the valley, bulldozers churn dust as they build new positions on land held by Israeli forces despite the November ceasefire.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell has inaugurated a newly upgraded Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) training facility in Zahrani in South Lebanon, the embassy said in a statement Thursday.

"The LAF facility was developed and upgraded through the support of the UK Government’s Integrated Security Fund. It will serve as a vital training facility for LAF troops strengthening their readiness for deployment across South Lebanon. The UK is also providing 1,000 Personal Protection Equipment sets to protect LAF soldiers as they carry out critical duties," the statement said.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh with U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin and a congressional delegation from the Republican and Democratic parties.

“Despite the international efforts exerted, and the U.S. mediation in particular, to compel Israel to comply with international legitimacy and to implement the ceasefire agreement agreed on in November 2024 and Resolution 1701, we have been surprised by counter-efforts against Resolutions 425 and 1701 and against the ceasefire agreement from the same sponsor (Washington), targeting the presence of the UNIFIL forces and their mission,” Berri said during the meeting.

U.S. special envoy to Lebanon Tom Barrack will return to Beirut next week after U.S. envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus' return from Israel, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

The daily said that Barrack will continue his mission in Lebanon and that Ortagus has not been officially tasked with the Lebanese file but was invited by Barrack for her wide network of connections in Israel.