The number of Syrian refugees leaving Lebanon is likely to keep rising as donors cut back on aid, the head of the U.N.'s migration agency warned, as pressure builds over their arrival on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, said that around 3,000 Syrians have left Lebanon since January, compared to 4,500 for the whole of last year. Many of them have headed to Cyprus, about 180 kilometers away.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has blasted Hezbollah anew for opening a front with Israel to back up its ally Hamas, saying it has harmed Lebanon without making a dent in Israel's crushing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday night, Geagea said Hezbollah should withdraw from areas along the border with Israel and the Lebanese Army should deploy in all points where militants of the Iran-backed group have taken positions.

Eight people were killed Tuesday after gas cylinders leaked and triggered a fire at the Pizza Secrets restaurant in Beirut's Beshara al-Khoury area.

The Beirut Fire Brigade said the eight victims suffocated to death inside the restaurant and that two other people were injured.

Polish prosecutors on Tuesday said they were investigating the Swiss unit of state-controlled refiner PKN Orlen for reported links with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has said that the decision to boycott the latest Maarab meeting was taken by the PSP and not by him personally.

“It wasn’t me. It was the PSP that took the decision not to go to Maarab. Then what’s the point of meeting people who do not recognize us?” Jumblat added, in an interview with the L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper.

Hundreds of university students in Lebanon protested on Tuesday against Israel's bombardment of Gaza, inspired by recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have rocked U.S. and European campuses.

Dozens of students gathered at the prestigious American University of Beirut (AUB), some wearing the traditional Arab keffiyeh scarf that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian cause.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is pressing the relevant international parties to return the unregistered Syrians in Lebanon to their country, a media report said.

“In the meetings that Mikati held over the past days, it was revealed that the European Union has become responsive to the Lebanese proposal,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has contacted Lebanese figures and spoken of a “serious chance” to reach a truce agreement in Gaza, which would allow for agreeing special arrangements for the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, a media report said.

The Lebanese figures have quoted Hochstein as saying that the Americans and many sides believe that the situations in south Lebanon and the Red Sea are linked to the situation in Gaza, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Ongoing hostilities in southern Lebanon are taking a devastating toll on the population, forcing approximately 90,000 people – including 30,000 children – from their homes. According to the latest report from the Ministry of Public Health, 8 children are among the 344 people killed and 75 children among the 1359 people injured since the escalation of the hostilities in October 2023.

The increase in armed conflict has damaged civilian infrastructure and facilities and has also impacted the essential services that children and families depend on, including significant damage to nine water stations, which serve a population of 100,000 people. More than 70 schools are currently closed, affecting around 20,000 students and significantly affecting their education. Around 23 healthcare facilities - serving 4,000 people - are closed due to the hostilities.

Lebanon has received an amended proposal Paris had previously presented for a diplomatic resolution to the border conflict, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper sad.

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné had visited Lebanon during the weekend but Speaker Nabih Berri said that Séjourné did not submit the paper during his visit and that the paper will be delivered to Lebanese officials by Tuesday.