Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, who was named by the Lebanese Forces, has again blamed Hezbollah for more than a year of clashes with Israel, which he said caused destruction, human loss, and Israeli occupation.

"We must remember who brought about the Israeli ground invasion of south Lebanon and who caused the destruction and the human losses," Rajji said in an interview with France24.

President Joseph Aoun has stressed the importance of unity in confronting any threat and for achieving the country’s prosperity.

Cabinet on Thursday approved a mechanism for administrative appointments, as Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that Lebanon’s new authorities are seeking “an upright and effective state administration that protects the citizen.”

Hezbollah MP Ibrahim al-Moussawi on Thursday blasted Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, who is close to the Lebanese Forces, for “his insistence to accuse Hezbollah of disavowing the ceasefire agreement with the Israeli enemy.”

MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of the Loyalty to Resistance bloc has noted that Hezbollah “considers that the responsibility for addressing and confronting what happened on the Lebanese-Syrian border falls on the Lebanese state and all its pillars and institutions.”

“Hezbollah, as part of it (the state), communicated with officials to push them to perform their role,” Hajj Hassan added during a funeral in the region.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has denied a media report about alleged discussions with “an unnamed Lebanese official in Doha” as “baseless, false and misleading.”

President Joseph Aoun told Wednesday German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock that Israel has refused to leave the five "strategic" hills where Israeli troops are still deployed beyond a Feb. 18 deadline for full withdrawal.

"Israel has refused all the Lebanese proposals to leave the five hills in south Lebanon and is still detaining a number of Lebanese prisoners," Aoun told Baerbock, adding that Israel is obstructing the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and violating a ceasefire reached in late November by occupying Lebanese land.

As the UK Emergency Medical Team (UK-EMT) ends their 5-month deployment in Lebanon, the British Embassy held a workshop for local and international partners.

In a notable judicial development, First Investigative Judge of the North Samaranda Nassar has listened to ex-energy minister Walid Fayad as a witness in the case of the Msaylha dam project.

As UNIFIL today, Wednesday completed 47 years of its establishment, its head and Force Commander, Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro, called for looking forward with hope following the recent devastating conflict.

Lázaro said the peacekeeping mission remains committed to easing tensions and fostering dialogue towards a permanent ceasefire.