Israeli artillery shelling sparked fires in the southern town of Bani Hayyan Friday while Israeli forces detonated houses in Markaba nearby.

Strikes targeted al-Mansouri and Majdalzoun and detonations were also registered in al-Mansouri, Beit Yahoun, Haddatha, and Kounine.

The United Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lebanon’s Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and Ministry of Defense, reaffirming its “long-standing partnership with Lebanon’s security institutions.”

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and U.S. General Joseph Clearfield met Friday with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Visiting General Clearfield heads a coordination group involved with the U.S. sponsored June agreement. The framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in "pilot zones".

The heads of six Arab football federations expressed their "full support" and "confidence" in Gianni Infantino on Thursday as the embattled FIFA president fights to keep his job after his failed World Cup private investment plan.

The backing came from 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan, with four of the signatories being FIFA council members.

Lebanon has formally abolished the death penalty, going against the grain in a region where Iran and Saudi Arabia are reportedly the second- and third-biggest executors globally, after China.

Here's a look at which countries in the Middle East and North Africa top the list of executioners, which have a moratorium on applying the death penalty, and whether others might follow Lebanon's example.

Human Rights Watch has called on the United Nations to keep an international force in Lebanon after its peacekeepers' mandate ends this year.

The peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, has roughly 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries, and has been in place since 1978.

Defense Minister Michel Menassa met Thursday at his office in Yarze with Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, who led a delegation comprising members of the Military Council and senior officers of the Army Command.

Israeli news portal Walla on Thursday quoted Israeli and U.S. officials as saying that "there is no agreement between Lebanon and Israel on forming a body to oversee the Lebanese Army's operations in the designated pilot zones."

Defense Minister Michel Menassa expressed Thursday profound regret to the families of fallen military officers, saying in a poignant statement that he felt he had failed them amidst growing political pressures on the armed forces.

"I apologize to the families of our martyrs; today, I feel I have let you down.

The Trump administration has said that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s comments that Israel will not withdraw from certain south Lebanon areas are inconsistent with a framework deal agreed to by Israel and Lebanon.

A U.S. State Department official reaffirmed that the U.S. “expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the framework they agreed to,” which does not include a long-term or permanent Israeli presence in south Lebanon.