French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Thursday in Beirut where he met with Lebanese leaders as France prepares to organize two conferences in support of the Lebanese armed forces and of recovery and reconstruction.

Le Drian met Thursday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Syria said Thursday that its forces dismantled a cell affiliated with Lebanon's Hezbollah, a key ally of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

"Specialized units in cooperation with the general intelligence service... were able to arrest a terrorist cell belonging to the Hezbollah militia that was active" in the Damascus countryside, an interior ministry statement said, quoting a local commander.

The Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country's south on Thursday killed one person, the latest raid despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"An Israeli enemy drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the Ain Baal-Bazouriyeh road, killing one person," the Ministry said in a statement, referring to an area in south Lebanon's Tyre district.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Wednesday that “the continuation of the resistance is a necessity for everyone” and that “it is Lebanon’s strength,” days after the Lebanese government approved a Lebanese Army plan for disarming Hezbollah and all armed groups in the country.

“We call for a return to priorities, which are ending the aggression, Israel’s withdrawal from the South, the release of the Lebanese captives, and the start of the reconstruction process,” Qassem said in a televised speech marking Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh with the deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, who was accompanied by a delegation.

“It was an opportunity for us to affirm, through our visit to His Excellency Speaker Nabih Berri, our support and endorsement of Lebanese national unity, solidarity and unity among all segments of the dear Lebanese people,” Babaei said.

The Jounieh Touristic Port was reopened Tuesday evening under the slogan "Jounieh Touristic Port... A Sea of ​​Opportunities," under the patronage of President Joseph Aoun, who was represented by Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny, and at the invitation of MP Neemat Frem, as part of a joint initiative between the public and private sectors.

“Three generations are looking forward to this port. The sixties generation remembers the most beautiful times when Lebanon was the Switzerland of the East. There is the eighties generation, who see a different time when we could breathe towards the world only through it. Today's generation will see this port as the new, beautiful time, the new, and joyful Lebanon, a time that will attract tourists instead of ensuring the flight of citizens," Frem said in a speech.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam revealed in an interview with An-Nahar newspaper that the Arab and international reactions to the September 5 cabinet session that endorsed the army’s weapons monopoly plan were “totally positive, the same as the domestic reactions to the session’s decisions.”

President Joseph Aoun condemned Tuesday the Israeli attack that targeted the residences of several members of Hamas’ political bureau, noting that they were “involved in negotiations to end the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and put an end to the massacres committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.”

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam noted Tuesday that “Hezbollah granted the government its confidence twice based on its ministerial statement which we are implementing.”

Noting that his relation with Speaker Nabih Berri “has never been severed,” Salam stressed from Ain el-Tineh that “there will be no backing down from the government’s decisions” on weapons monopolization.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Tuesday in Ain el-Tineh with Speaker Nabih Berri.

MTV described the move as a “reconciliation” visit.