Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Thursday with France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who arrived on Monday in Lebanon, where a fragile truce since late November ended intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu had met Monday with Lebanon's army chief Joseph Aoun, and visited Tuesday U.N. peacekeepers near the Israeli border in south Lebanon.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil has warned Hezbollah against supporting Army chief Joseph Aoun for the presidency, local media outlet al-Jadeed reported.

Al-Jadeed said Thursday it had learned from a parliamentary source that Bassil told Amal and Hezbollah he'd back Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea if they accept to support Aoun.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held phone talks with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot over the situations in Syria and Lebanon.

Israeli artillery shelling on Thursday targeted the al-Roumiyeh area between the southern towns of Beit Leef and Yater, the National News Agency said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday commented on remarks by Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem about the Lebanese state’s responsibility in confronting Israel’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.

At least 10 people were killed and 30 injured when a vehicle plowed into a crowd in a popular tourist district in the U.S. city of New Orleans, city authorities said Wednesday.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that "the resistance will continue, has recovered and possesses enough faith that allows it to become stronger."

The Israeli army on Tuesday identified Hezbollah members transferring weapons from a weapons depot in southern Lebanon to a nearby vehicle, the Israeli army said on Wednesday.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil has called for an inter-Christian understanding on a president, ahead of an election session scheduled for January 9.

Bassil said there might be surprises in the session and called for consensus, in remarks published Tuesday in al-Joumhouria newspaper.

Deputy head of Hezbollah's political council Mahmoud Qmati has warned that Hezbollah will deal differently with Israeli soldiers if they remain in Lebanon for more than 60 days - an initial stage of a ceasefire reached in late November.

"We've committed to patience for 60 days and after that the present forces will become occupation forces and we'll deal with them accordingly," Qmati told Hezbollah's al-Manar on Monday.