British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said that the sailing Monday of the first grain ship since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an “important first step.”

Under the U.N.-brokered agreement, the ship, Razoni, left Ukraine’s Odessa this morning for Lebanon, traveling along a safe corridor established under the deal.

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has informed Lebanese leaders of an Israeli proposal for demarcating the maritime border according to a path based on Line 23, an official Lebanese source said.

“The proposal starts from the coordinates of Line 23 and deviates north to reach the central line between Lebanon and Cyprus,” the source told Al-Jazeera television.

Outgoing U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi has penned an op-ed concluding her mission in Lebanon before taking up her new role as U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria.

In her article titled “My journey in Lebanon”, the outgoing RC/HC reflects on her two-year mission in Lebanon, the many challenges facing Lebanon, the impact the U.N. has made on her watch, and the prospects for Lebanon’s recovery and "prosperous future." She also stresses the need for justice and the renewal of Lebanon’s social contract.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that his party will decide how to act in light of the outcome of U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein’s talks with Lebanon’s leaders on Monday.

President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Monday with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein in Baabda, in the presence of U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, and General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.

Speaking after the meeting, Hochstein said that he is very optimistic that a demarcation agreement will be reached in the coming weeks after he returns to Beirut to resume the negotiations.

President Michel Aoun said Monday that Lebanon won't be lenient as to its natural resources, as Lebanon celebrated its 77th Army Day.

Aoun affirmed his keenness on Lebanon's rights, adding that the aim of the border demarcation talks is to protect Lebanon's natural resources.

U.S. energy mediator Amos Hochstein arrived Sunday in Lebanon carrying a new Israeli proposal regarding the sea border demarcation with Lebanon.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday voiced regret over the clash in the southern border town of Rmeish between Hezbollah members and town residents.

Hezbollah on Sunday aired drone footage of Israeli ships in a disputed gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting the tension at the center of U.S.-mediated maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel.

The footage was aired as the U.S. energy envoy, Amos Hochstein, was landing in Beirut to mediate ongoing talks between Lebanon and Israel over their sea borders. Lebanon claims the Karish gas field is disputed territory under ongoing maritime border negotiations, whereas Israel says it lies within its internationally recognized economic waters.

The U.S. State Department on Sunday announced that reaching a solution in the sea border talks between Lebanon and Israel can only be reached through “negotiations and diplomacy,” shortly before the arrival of U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials.

“Following visits to Paris, Brussels, and Athens to discuss European energy security, Special Presidential Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Amos Hochstein will travel to Beirut July 31 to discuss sustainable solutions to Lebanon’s energy crisis, including the Biden Administration’s commitment to facilitating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the maritime boundary,” the State Dept. said in a statement.