President Joseph Aoun vowed Monday that Lebanon is committed to reforms and to Hezbollah’s disarmament, revealing that efforts to devise a "national security strategy" will begin "soon."

"Lebanon needs time and space to resolve these matters calmly," Aoun said, adding that disarming Hezbollah would happen through dialogue and communication. "Hezbollah after all is a Lebanese component and the Israeli occupation of the five hills (in south Lebanon) would not help Lebanon but only complicate the situation further."

Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri has told Deputy U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus that her past stances were not "encouraging" but said his meeting Saturday with her was "positive", al-Joumhouria newspaper said Monday.

In her last visit to war-hit Lebanon on February, Ortagus voiced from Baabda pro-Israel statements. "We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah," Ortagus said, adding that the United States has set a "red line" that Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon's next government.

President Joseph Aoun met Monday at the presidential palace with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir conducted an assessment of the situation on the border with Lebanon on Sunday “in preparation for the (Jewish) holidays,” the Israeli army said.

Israeli Apache helicopters fired missiles at prefabricated homes in the southern coastal border town of Naqoura overnight after opening machine gun fire across the town, the National News Agency said.

An Israeli strike Monday on southern Lebanon killed one person, according to the health ministry, with Israel's military saying it had "eliminated" a Hezbollah commander.

Visiting U.S. deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus has addressed the issue of Hezbollah's disarmament in her talks with Lebanese officials over the weekend.

An Israeli drone on Sunday bombed an excavator and a Renault Rapid utility car between the southern towns of Zibqin and al-Shuaitiyeh in the Tyre district, the National News Agency said.

Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus held a “constructive” meeting with President Joseph Aoun on Saturday morning as she kicked off an official visit to Lebanon, the Presidency said.

As Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus is due in Beirut in a diplomatic bid to resolve several outstanding issues between Lebanon and Israel, Israel carried out Friday a strike on south Lebanon's port city of Sidon, killing a Hamas commander, despite a truce reached in late November.

A senior official told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the three Lebanese leaders - Speaker Nabih Berri, PM Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun - will tell Ortagus that Lebanon's priority is the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the five points where they are still deployed in south Lebanon and the cessation of Israeli attacks and violations.