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Israeli drone strike kills one in Seer al-Gharbiyeh

An Israeli drone strike on Friday targeted a car in the southern town of Seer al-Gharbiyeh, killing one person, the state-run National News Agency said.

Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.

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Army Command vows to enforce 'political authority's decisions'

The Army Command on Friday stressed that it is “executing its missions with the highest levels of responsibility, professionalism and keenness on the country’s security and internal stability, in line with the political authority’s decisions and out of commitment to performing duties no matter the difficulties.”

The Command also called on media outlets “not to tackle the affairs of the military institution and launch speculations about its decisions,” urging them to “return to its official statements to obtain accurate information.”

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PM Salam welcomes UN peacekeepers extension

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed a United Nations Security Council decision on Thursday to extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

"I welcome the Security Council’s decision to extend the UNIFIL mandate until December 31, 2026," Salam said, thanking France and "all friendly states in this council". The decision provides for the blue helmets to withdraw from Lebanon by the end of 2027.

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UN sets 2027 exit for Lebanon peacekeepers after Israeli strikes

The Security Council has voted for U.N. peacekeepers to leave Lebanon in 2027, allowing only one final extension after pressure from Israel and its U.S. ally to end the nearly 50-year-old force.

Israel hailed Thursday the upcoming termination of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and urged the Beirut government to exert its authority after an Israeli military campaign devastated Hezbollah.

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Disarmament of Palestinian camps could pave way for new refugee rights

As more Palestinian refugee camps handed over caches of weapons to the Lebanese army this week, a Lebanese government official told The Associated Press that the disarmament effort could pave the way for granting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon more legal rights.

Ramez Dimashkieh, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, a government body that serves as an interlocutor between Palestinian refugees and officials, said his group is working on proposed legislation that they hope to introduce by the end of the year that could improve the situation of Lebanon's approximately 200,000 Palestinian refugees.

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Israeli drone explodes after crash, killing two soldiers

Two Lebanese army personnel were killed Thursday after an Israeli drone that had crashed in the country's south exploded, the latest deadly incident for Lebanese troops near the Israeli border.

Under a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities including two months of open war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's army has been deploying in the country's south and dismantling the Iran-backed group's infrastructure there with the support of U.N. peacekeepers.

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UN peacekeepers discover Hezbollah bunker in south Lebanon

In a wooded valley close to the Israeli border, United Nations peacekeepers showed AFP journalists a Hezbollah bunker they had uncovered in southern Lebanon, a former bastion of the militant group.

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Thursday on the future of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which faces U.S. and Israeli opposition.

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Report: Lebanon seeks to revive 'fruitful dialogue' with US, allies

The Lebanese cabinet session scheduled for September 2 to discuss the Lebanese Army’s plan for disarming Hezbollah and the other armed groups will be held on time, a highly informed Lebanese source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

The source, however, did not rule out a brief postponement of the session should domestic complications arise .

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Army's disarmament plan to be reportedly enforced in two phases

A Lebanese leader and a Lebanese party official have reached an agreement on the Lebanese Army’s plan for disarming Hezbollah that will be presented to Cabinet on September 2, informed sources said.

The plan will be implemented over two phases: “the first in the South Litani region, where the government will fully implement Resolution 1701 without objection from Hezbollah,” the sources told the al-Anbaa news portal.

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Palestinian factions in south Lebanon hand weapons to army

Palestinian groups in three refugee camps in south Lebanon handed over heavy weapons to the Lebanese army on Thursday, under a disarmament deal reached earlier this year, Lebanese and Palestinian authorities said.

During a visit to Beirut in May, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun agreed that weapons in Lebanon's Palestinian camps would be handed over to the Lebanese authorities.

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