If Cabinet goes all the way in the probe into Hezbollah’s explosives shipment and judicial warrants are issued against Hezbollah officials, the party “will not remain silent,” sources close to Hezbollah said.

“Its rejection could escalate into movements on the ground,” the sources told Al-Jadeed television.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea voiced his support for President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and called for immediate judicial action regarding Hezbollah's confiscated explosives, in an interview on Thursday night on MTV’s Sar El Waqt.

"The Lebanese Forces considers itself in the same boat as President General Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam until further notice," Geagea told host Marcel Ghanem, adding that the explosives case "must be referred without delay to the Judicial Council, as it directly threatens national security, civil peace and state authority."

Kiryat Shmona has long been a bastion of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. But that loyalty is no longer ironclad.

Once a bustling commercial center, Israel's northernmost city was temporarily evacuated three years ago after being battered by rockets from nearby Lebanon, and it still feels half-empty even though the attacks have mostly subsided. Although the town remains staunchly conservative, there are rumblings of displeasure with Netanyahu's handling of the latest war against Hezbollah, and that could bode poorly for him in Israel's election Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he would inform U.S. President Donald Trump of what Israel intends to do, but will not ask him for a green light to strike Iran.

Netanyahu added that he had issued a directive stating that "the only acceptable solution is the overthrow of the fanatical regime in Iran."

Speaker Nabih Berri has relayed recent warnings from foreign visitors to Hezbollah, urging the Iran-backed party to refrain from military involvement in the event of a new war on Tehran, a source directly involved in the U.S.-sponsored Lebanese–Israeli negotiations said.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani for his part met behind closed doors with MP Mohammad Raad of Hezbollah during his latest visit to Lebanon, and the lawmaker expressed Hezbollah’s “openness and flexibility,” noting that the group does not intend to resort to escalation, the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

Israeli strikes targeted Thursday Kfartebnit and al-Qantara in southern Lebanon while artillery shelled al-Mansouri, Wadi Zebqine, and Mazraat Bouyout al-Siyyad.

Israeli forces meanwhile carried out detonations in Bani Hayyan and Markaba and advanced toward al-Hebbarieh.

Cabinet will meet at 3:00 PM today, Thursday, at the Presidential Palace. The agenda includes a request from the Ministry of Justice to refer the case of explosives seized by Lebanese authorities last week to the Judicial Council.

The explosives belonged to Hezbollah, and the group stated they were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Minister of Justice Adel Nassar has said that the investigation into the file of Hezbollah's explosives shipment "is ongoing and expanding,” in line with “the commitments of President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Ministry of Justice that there is no ceiling on the investigations, and no political interference to influence them."

In an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Nassar pointed out that the request to refer the file to the Judicial Council "will be a path independent of the current judicial investigations and procedures, in which we have full confidence," emphasizing "our full trust in the judges handling the investigations, namely Public Prosecutor Judge Ahmad Rami Al-Hajj and Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem."

The San Francisco chapter of SEAL (Social and Economic Action for Lebanon) once again turned out for Lebanon on Sunday, October 18, 2026, raising close to $800,000 for Lebanese farmers at its annual benefit gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto.

The nonprofit has worked from the U.S. East Coast for more than a quarter century, and this year marked its fifth consecutive gala in California. More than 200 guests and donors filled the ballroom, hosted by Roula Tamer, chair of SEAL’s board of directors, alongside fellow board members and the event committee.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri believes Lebanon is in dire need of unity. In remarks published Thursday in al-Joumhouria, he called on the Lebanese people to unite and avoid provocative or sectarian speech.

Berri said the situation in the country is "delicate" and demands a great deal of awareness, wisdom, and genuine partnership among all domestic components.