Major General Diodato Abagnara of Italy assumed Tuesday command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), taking over from Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro of Spain, during a special ceremony held at the Mission’s headquarters in Naqoura, south Lebanon.

In his address, Abagnara stressed the importance of achieving a lasting stability along the Blue Line while recognizing "real challenges" ahead.

President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met Tuesday in Baabda and discussed the latest developments in the region and in Lebanon.

"I think that we'll reach a serious U.S.-Iranian understanding that is compatible with our vision and with Lebanon's higher interests," Geagea said after the meeting, as he urged for setting a timeframe for Hezbollah's disarmament.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Tuesday in Doha with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

“We’re working on extending the state’s authority across its territory … and there can be no stability in Lebanon without Israel’s full withdrawal, especially from the five points it is still occupying,” Salam said at a joint press conference.

The health ministry said an Israeli strike killed three people Tuesday in the country’s south, the latest such raid despite a November ceasefire.

"The strike launched by an Israeli enemy drone on a vehicle" in the Nabatieh district town of Kfar Dajjal "resulted in the death of three people", the ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.

Israel carried out airstrikes in parts of south Lebanon, including in Iqlim al-Tuffah.

Monday’s airstrikes were more intense than the usual near-daily ones that Israel has carried out since a ceasefire ended its 14-month war with Hezbollah in November.

Greek authorities sent new evacuation notifications for two areas near the main town of the eastern Aegean island of Chios Monday morning, as firefighters struggled to control a major wildfire raging on the town's outskirts for a second day.

The fire department said 190 firefighters were battling the blaze Monday. They were backed up by 35 vehicles, five helicopters and two water-dropping planes. Strong winds in the area since Sunday have hampered firefighting efforts.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem warned in an interview published Monday that “the attack on Iran will have hefty prices because the entire region is in danger.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri reconfirmed Monday that Hezbollah will certainly not join the Israel-Iran war as local media reports said that Amal, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have been discussing, away from the spotlight, the need to keep Lebanon out of the conflict.

Sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, in reports published Monday, that Hezbollah will not join the fray and "give Israel pretexts" to drag Lebanon into a new war.

Lebanese Muay Thai star Ramadan Ondash is set to face Thai counterpart Chartpayak Saksatoon at ONE Championship event ONE Friday Fights 114. 

Both fighters are undefeated in ONE Championship's weekly fight series ahead of their exciting strawweight Muay Thai clash with Ondash boasting a 3-0 slate against Chartpayak's 7-0 record. 

The Lebanese Army inspected Monday a building in Hay al-American in Hadath in search of military equipment.

Army forces had inspected buildings in the area, once with a bulldozer, at the request of the five-member committee supervising the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.