Government and business leaders and investors, mainly from Arab nations, gathered Tuesday at the Beirut Seaside Arena in an investor conference organized by the Lebanese government.

The conference brings together the private sector, the Lebanese diaspora, and international partners, as the country tries to rebuild itself after an unprecedented economic crisis and a war with Israel that did not completely stop despite a ceasefire reached in November last year.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday warned against what he called “surrendering” the country to Israel.

“Those saying the resistance is a problem because it's not surrendering accept that the country be surrendered to Israel, whereas we do not accept that,” said Qassem in a televised speech marking the first anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah spokesman and senior official Mohammad Afif.

President Joseph Aoun has been surprised by not receiving any response from the U.S. or Israel regarding his announcement that Lebanon is willing to hold negotiations with Israel, informed sources said.

“Aoun was expecting U.S. contacts, but Washington considered that what he declared did not require action, and is still calling on Lebanon to take practical measures reflecting its commitment to the arms monopoly plan,” the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri denied Israeli claims that Hezbollah is rebuilding its military capabilities, hinting that Lebanese politicians are behind these claims.

"Those who are claiming this are the same ones making sure that no Iranian plane lands in Beirut and strictly surveilling the Lebanese-Syrian border," Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Monday.

Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide MP Ali Hassan Khalil has visited Tehran for talks with a number of senior Iranian officials.

Khalil met with Iranian Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani, Shoura Council Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal will hold several meetings in Washington related to the Lebanese Army’s deployment plan and the repeated Israeli attacks, the PSP’s al-Anbaa news portal reported on Monday.

Haykal will hold meetings with U.S. officials on Tuesday, al-Anbaa added.

The new U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa on Monday met with President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji and submitted his credentials to them, kicking off his mission in Lebanon.

A Presidency statement said Issa relayed U.S. President Donald Trump's greetings to Aoun and his keenness on boosting U.S.-Lebanese ties and developing them in all fields.

The Israeli army on Monday fired six mortar shells at the eastern outskirts of the southern border town of Aitaroun.

Homes and schools were earlier evacuated after the Lebanese Army informed Aitaroun's municipality about a possible Israeli strike.

Israeli media reports have said that a new confrontation with Hezbollah is definite and just "a matter of time", claiming that the group is rebuilding itself.

The reports said that the Lebanese army is failing to disarm Hezbollah and that Iran is trying to rebuild its military capabilities, which could lead to a confrontation with Iran and Hezbollah.

A Saudi technical committee led by Saudi envoy Prince Yazid bin Farhan arrived Monday in Lebanon to discuss lifting the ban on Lebanese imports.

A senior Saudi official had announced last week that his country plans to imminently bolster commercial ties with Lebanon after Lebanese authorities demonstrated efficacy curbing drug smuggling to the kingdom over the past months.