President Joseph Aoun called on Wednesday for dialogue and moderation to resolve the country's crises.

"Lebanon's problems cannot be solved except by adopting the language of moderation and dialogue, away from confrontation," Aoun said, adding that "there is no place for despair."

Israeli artillery shelled Wednesday Majdalzoun, al-Mansouri and Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, after forces carried out detonations overnight in the southern border towns of Khiam, Tallousa and Bani Hayyan.

Anxious Israelis were meanwhile watching election results take shape after the highest turnout in over a quarter-century.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat told L'Orient-Le Jour that neither the Lebanese Parliament nor the Cabinet was consulted before the signing of a tripartite framework deal with Israel.

"I have the right to express my opinion," he said, in an interview on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji met Tuesday with Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Helen McEntee and thanked her for “her country's role in the UNIFIL forces and the sacrifices made by its soldiers.”

“We agreed on the necessity of maintaining an international presence in the South, and we discussed the role that the European Union, whose presidency her country currently holds, can play,” Rajji said in a post on X.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Gebran Bassil has cautioned that "the upcoming phase carries significant risks for Lebanon and the region," warning of the potential escalation of Israeli attacks and the repercussions of Hezbollah entering a new war.

“There is fear that any vacuum in the South as a result of UNIFIL's departure could have negative repercussions on stability in the region

President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday told the visiting Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Helen McEntee that "Lebanon desires the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to continue its operational mission during the upcoming year designated for its withdrawal under the Security Council resolution.”

A U.S. State Department spokesman has snapped back at Druze leader Walid Jumblat over remarks voiced in his latest interview.

“In keeping with his long record, Walid Jumblat will do and say whatever is best for Walid Jumblat, with little regard for principle, his own constituency, or the future of his country,” the spokesman said.

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has called for dialogue among Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah and right-wing parties, stressing that it is not possible to annihilate the Shiites who are also Lebanese.

"You cannot annihilate them or tell them to go away," he told his interviewer on Sunday. "Maybe they (Hezbollah) have got weaker but they're still there. Dialogue is the only solution," he said.

MP Hassan Fadlallah announced Monday that Iran has not asked Hezbollah to intervene militarily if a new war is waged on the Islamic republic.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran did not ask us in the past, nor today, to support it in confronting the American-Israeli aggression,” Fadlallah said.

President Joseph Aoun stated Saturday from the Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli that "Tripoli has the capacity to be a model of convergence, cooperation, and looking toward the future."

"What I hope for is that we make this visit a milestone to strengthen trust between the state and the city’s residents," said Aoun in the impoverished northern city.