The Israeli army targeted Friday the southern villages of Touline and Kherbet Selem despite residents returning home to their southern towns and villages after a 3-week extension of the ceasefire.

Israeli troops were also detonating houses in Khiam, a border town in a "buffer zone" that Israel is occupying in southern Lebanon.

Air defense systems were activated in parts of Tehran on Thursday evening amid reports of hostile aerial activity, Iranian state media said in the first such reports since a ceasefire began.

The IRNA state news agency said the "sound of air defense firing" was heard in western Tehran, while the Mehr news agency reported that the systems were activated in several parts of the capital to counter "hostile targets", without elaborating further.

Tonight's second round of preparatory direct talks between Lebanon and Israel will be held at the White House instead of the State Department, Lebanese TV networks said.

The meeting is scheduled for 11:00 pm Beirut time (8:00 pm GMT).

Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held talks on Thursday, discussing the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, "particularly Israel's continued aggression against Lebanon, including its ongoing systematic destruction of border villages," Berri's office said.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil suggested Thursday that Hezbollah "has lost its internal legitimacy" and "its justification for

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to scale back its demands and end its military invasion of the country.

MP George Adwan said Thursday at a press conference held by the Strong Republic bloc in parliament that "what happened over the past two years is that a certain faction dragged Lebanon into a war in support of Gaza, and the result was the destruction of Gaza and hundreds of thousands of martyrs. This was in addition to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and the signing of the agreement in November 2024."

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Thursday that negotiations are a necessity, not a concession, after he met President Joseph Aoun in Baabda ahead of a second session of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington.

"Negotiations are the only path toward ending wars and destruction, on behalf of all Lebanese people," al-Rahi said, adding that any infringement upon Lebanon's sovereignty, independence, or the rights of its people is "unacceptable."

UK Chargé D’Affaires Victoria Dunne and Deputy Defense Attaché Thomas Hobbs met Thursday senior officers of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), to deliver UK relief assistance to displaced LAF families, at the LAF logistics hub in Beirut.

The UK Ministry of Defense is providing essential and practical relief items, worth over $150,000, delivered and coordinated in partnership with the LAF. This includes personal hygiene kits, bedding, washing machines and cleaning essentials and will meet the needs of hundreds of families affected by the conflict. This is in addition to $27 million in humanitarian crisis response to Lebanon announced last week, bringing total UK support since March to $40 million.

President Joseph Aoun met Thursday with Saudi Foreign Ministry Advisor Prince Yazid bin Farhan in Baabda.

Their discussions focused on the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to assist Lebanon in overcoming its prevailing hardships and regional challenges.