French special presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, who arrived Tuesday in Beirut, met Wednesday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun.

Le Drian is reportedly visiting the crisis-hit country in a bid to reactivate the presidential election file.

Hamas said Tuesday that it clashed with Israeli forces after they violated the truce in northern Gaza, while noting that it is still committed to the temporary ceasefire.

CIA Director William Burns arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for secret meetings with Israel’s spy chief and Qatar’s prime minister aimed at brokering an expansive deal between Israel and Hamas, three people familiar with the visit told the Washington Post.

The Israeli artillery shelled Tuesday the outskirts of the border town of Aita al-Shaab, as calm almost prevailed over the border area in south Lebanon.

While Lebanon and Hezbollah weren't officially parties to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, it has brought at least a temporary halt to the daily exchanges of rockets, artillery shelling and airstrikes.

Cautious calm prevailed over the border area in south Lebanon Monday, the last day of a four-day cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

The calm was interrupted overnight by Israeli shelling on the southern border town of Marwahin.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will not call for a cabinet session that would discuss the term extension of the army chief before Hezbollah announces its stance, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said.

The daily reported Monday that Mikati needs to know whether Hezbollah would support its ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, and refuse the extension of Gen. Joseph Aoun's term ahead of his planned retirement in January.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has stressed Lebanon’s reliance on the efforts of friendly countries for restoring peace in south Lebanon.

In an interview published Monday in al-Joumhouria newspaper, Mikati hoped that friendly countries would succeed to restore peace and calm along the southern border.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday voiced rejection of “confining the election of a president to a person, a project or an influence-related motive.”

Moreover, al-Rahi said he does not accept any attempt to “harm the army’s unity and stability and its confidence in itself and in its command, especially that the country and its security are on the mouth of a volcano.”

The British embassy in Lebanon on Saturday said that "the UK echoes UNIFIL's call for a cessation of hostilities across the Blue Line and for renewed commitment to implementing U.N. Security Council resolution 1701."

"Yesterday's calm on the Blue Line offers a chance to refocus on the long term solution for peace," the embassy said in a post on the X platform, formerly Twitter, while reposting a message from UNIFIL's commander.

The Israeli army said Saturday that it shot down a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanese territory at an Israeli military drone.