The head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, has emphasized that "the unity of the Shite stance is sacred at this critical stage," warning that "there are those who want to create division, incite sensitivities, and stir up trouble among the sons of the sect by digging up the unfortunate past."

"There are those working today to dig up the past; why are you digging up the past and reminding us of inter-Shiite fighting? Why remind us of it after we worked for the unity of Lebanon?” asked Khatib in a speech in the Baalbek town of Younine during a memorial ceremony.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has stressed that "the State cannot remain in a waiting state.”

Lebanese Ambassdor to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad has said that she is "grateful" to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for "his leadership, friendship, and support for Lebanon."

Lebanon's Druze leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat has warned that the talks with Israel appear to have entered a cycle of "negotiating for the sake of negotiating," where the Lebanese delegation will face new demands in every session.

The war of words continued on Friday between Hezbollah official Nawaf al-Moussawi and the Free Patriotic Movement, with Moussawi labelling FPM chief Gebran Bassil as a “despicable and detestable” liar.

President Joseph Aoun stressed Friday that southerners' adherence to their land "is the strongest response to all attempts at displacement, intimidation and the attacks committed by Israel."

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the fate and future of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed regional armed groups is completely tied to the fate of the Iranian regime itself.

“They go -- as goes Iran, so goes the proxies,” said Trump in response to a Lebanese reporter’s question about Hezbollah.

Lieutenant General Sir Charlie Collins KBE DSO, Deputy Chief of the British Defense Staff (Military Strategy and Operations), concluded a visit to Lebanon on Tuesday 29 September, the British embassy said on Friday.

During the visit, Lieutenant General Collins met Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal, and United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jean Arnault. He was accompanied by Deputy Defense Attaché Squadron Leader Craig Pearson.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Friday that rebuilding regions destroyed in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war is beyond the state's capacity, calling for funding as he visited the heavily damaged south.

"I am aware of the magnitude of the crisis" including the destruction, displacement and loss of livelihoods, Salam said in Nabatieh, a major southern city hit hard by Israeli airstrikes.

Representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanon’s Hezbollah held face-to-face talks in Turkey last month to try to calm tensions ​between them, media reports said on Thursday.

The reports said the meeting went well and ​took place at the invitation of Turkish security and intelligence agencies.