President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday said that the loyalty of the Lebanese must be to their country, warning that “anyone who seeks external backing against a fellow citizen at home is bound to lose, because foreign powers will eventually abandon them.”

“No war in Lebanon has ever produced a winner; rather, everyone lost, and the nation itself suffered. We chose the path of negotiation because we are a sovereign state; this decision serves Lebanon’s interests and is not intended to appease any foreign party,” Aoun said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea expressed deep concern Wednesday that Nabatieh could face the same fate as Ali al-Taher and Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, calling on state authorities to strictly enforce decisions outlawing Hezbollah’s military and security wings.

Geagea urged the government to act firmly by expelling all illegal gunmen from Nabatieh and dismantling non-state military infrastructure to help secure a ceasefire in and around the southern city.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday stated that “just as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always stood by Lebanon during every crisis it has faced, it is our duty, as Lebanese people, to stand united with the Kingdom as it faces heinous and bloody attacks."

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted oil facilities in south Saudi Arabia in recent days, wounding dozens, as deadly fighting and Saudi airstrikes renewed in Yemen after a Houthi offensive towards the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab chokepoint.

Retired military personnel on Wednesday staged protests at the Riad Al-Solh Square, near the entrance to Parliament, and in other locations in the country to reject the 2027 draft state budget, which failed to include any adjustment to ranks and salaries.

They criticized authorities for overlooking their demands, accusing them of being indifferent to the hardships they face in meeting their living expenses.

Joint Saudi-American diplomatic efforts over the past 24 hours have succeeded in de-escalating tensions in southern Lebanon following direct U.S. engagement with Israel, local media reported.

U.S. sources told al-Jadeed that meetings between American and Saudi officials focused on the Lebanese file, with Riyadh backing the Lebanese government's demands to secure a permanent solution.

One person was killed Wednesday in an Israeli strike on his motorcycle on the Zebdine-Marj Harouf road.

Israeli artillery shelled overnight into Wednesday the southern towns of Kfar Remman, al-Mansouri, Wadi Zebqine, Mays al-Jabal and Qabrikha, while strikes targeted Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Wadi Zebqine, Wadi Slouqi and Kfartebnit.

Israeli artillery shelled overnight into Tuesday Wadi al-Slouqi and Wadi al-Hujair, while forces opened fire at forests near Qabrikha and detonated houses in al-Mansouri.

On Monday 13 people, including women and children, were killed in strikes on the south.

President Joseph Aoun has condemned Israel's "repeated attacks" on Lebanon, accusing it of violating the U.S.-brokered framework deal.

"When both sides sign an agreement, they are expected to honor it," he said. "Unfortunately, while Lebanon remains committed to the agreement and insists on its implementation, Israel continues to offer unacceptable excuses to justify its aggression. Flimsy pretexts are being used to defend these ongoing strikes."

The U.S. wants “the interest of the Shiite community and the return of residents to the South and their homes,” U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said on Tuesday after a visit to the Higher Islamic Shiite Council and a meeting with its head Sheikh Ali al-Khatib.

Speaking in Arabic, Issa added that Washington is willing to negotiate with Hezbollah “through the state,” adding that “the state is the side that works for the sake of Lebanon.”

The house of MP Melhem al-Hujeiri, a member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc, came under gunfire at dawn in the northeastern town of Arsal, media reports said.