Hezbollah has said it fired Katyusha rockets at Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed two people in the south of the country.

Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire following the Palestinian group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked war in Gaza.

Lebanon's Muslim religious authorities have filed complaints against a stand-up comedian and LGBTQ rights activist, after a sketch of hers about Friday prayers sparked controversy online.

Two civilians, a first responder from Amal's Risala rescue group and a telecoms technician doing maintenance work, were killed Friday in an Israeli drone strike on the southern border town of Tayrharfa, as cross-border hostilities intensified.

A Risala Scout association rescuer and a technician from Power Tec, which undertakes maintenance work for private mobile service provider MTC Touch, were killed "as a result of the Israeli aggression on Tayrharfa", Lebanon's National News Agency said.

A dialogue conference was held Thursday in Bkirki regarding the issue of the displaced Syrians in Lebanon, with church sources telling the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper that the meeting “achieved its goals and turned the refugee issue from a Christian issue into a national one.”

“Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s dispatch of Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi came as an assertion of the national dimension of the refugee file. Bkirki also succeeded in putting the state and its ministries and agencies before their responsibilities instead of awaiting an international decision that would allow for the repatriation” of Syrian refugees, the daily said.

Palestinian movement Hamas said in a statement that the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, has received a phone call from caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

“The two sides discussed the latest political and military developments, especially the negotiations to stop the war in Gaza and the ongoing invasion of Rafah,” the statement said.

The Israeli army’s Northern Command “continues to increase competence and readiness for a variety of combat scenarios in the North,” the Israeli army has said.

“The reserve battalions of the Etzioni Brigade (6) participated in a brigade exercise in the Western Galilee, led by the National Center for Land Training (MLA),” the Israeli army added.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has vowed that Israel "will achieve (its) goals in the north and south," in what he called a message to both Israel’s "enemies and best friends."

The comments come after U.S. President Joe Biden threatened that some arms shipments would be frozen if Israel launched a planned full-on offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah.

Parliament will convene Wednesday to discuss a deal with the EU including a financial package of $1 billion for Lebanon.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had announced $1 billion in aid for Lebanon during a visit to the crisis-hit country and urged it to tackle illegal migration to the bloc.

Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement have protested in front of the U.N headquarters against Syrian refugees and the deal between the European Union and the Lebanese government.

Protesters held up a mockup of a bank cheque with Arabic words that read: "Pay to the order of the Lebanese State the sum of one billion Euro", during the protest Thursday.

Ambassador Lisa A. Johnson has visited the Zgharta district in North Lebanon, meeting with government officials, civil society leaders, and community members involved in two USAID development projects and an U.S. Embassy funded program supporting local women’s advocacy for equal rights and access to public services.

In Mazraat El Teffah, Ambassador Johnson attended the opening of a new solar-powered water pumping station.