The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Rome on August 4 through 6, as Israel prepares to withdraw from two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani first announced the next round of U.S.-mediated talks last week, with a State Department official detailing the talks to AFP on the condition of anonymity.

The German government has pledged tougher security laws following a deadly vehicle and machete attack blamed on a known jihadist militant near Berlin's Pride parade.

The attacker on Saturday ploughed a rented minivan into a crowd before slashing away at people with a machete, killing a 65-year-old Polish woman and wounding 29 others near the site of the LGBTQ community event.

The United Nations' human rights chief has said that Israel must end its occupation of large areas of southern Lebanon and halt the demolition of homes, days before Lebanese and Israeli officials are set to hold another round of direct talks.

Volker Türk spoke to The Associated Press as he wrapped up a visit to Lebanon, his second in just over a year. He met Monday with government officials, civil society representatives and Lebanese people displaced by the war.

President Joseph Aoun on Monday told U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk that Israel's continued destruction of homes and bulldozing of villages in the south constitutes “a direct violation of human rights and a blatant breach of international laws and norms, necessitating international action to put an end to it.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Monday, that "the only acceptable path" is securing a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

"What we wanted yesterday, today, and tomorrow is securing a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese territory," Berri said, adding that he still rejects the framework agreement and any direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has emphasized that the most important thing is to preserve “the memory of south Lebanon and Jabal Amel in coexistence, struggle, resilience, intellectual and cultural contributions, scholarship and attachment to the land.”

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said that Syria has no intention of launching any military intervention into neighboring Lebanon, despite repeated remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on the issue.

Instead, he told Al-Jazeera that his government is currently discussing ways for Lebanese authorities to overcome the country’s current crisis and steer it towards safety.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Cabinet meeting that he will resist U.S. pressure to pull forces from Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria, Israeli media reported Monday.

Channel 13 quoted Netanyahu as telling his ministers that Washington is pushing for Israeli troop withdrawals from several fronts, including southern Lebanon, and that he will "stand on my own two feet and resist" any pressure to pull forces out prematurely.

German police said Sunday they had shot and killed the chief suspect in what officials described as a deadly Islamist attack near the Berlin Pride parade the previous night, the latest ramming assault to hit the country.

President Joseph Aoun has discussed regional developments and the situation in southern Lebanon in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Aoun also updated Macron on his recent visit to Washington, the presidency said Sunday in a post on the X platform.