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Report: Ortagus to visit Lebanon in two weeks

U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus is scheduled to visit Lebanon in two weeks, sources told LBCI television on Friday.

Al-Akhbar newspaper had reported Thursday that the presidency has been informed of the postponement of Ortagus' visit from May to June, adding that the reason might be President Joseph Aoun's busy schedule.

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Disarming Palestinian camps to start mid-June, official says after committee meeting

The disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon will begin next month based on an accord with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Lebanese government official told AFP on Friday.

The Lebanese and Palestinian sides agreed on starting a plan "to remove weapons from the camps, beginning mid-June in the Beirut camps, and other camps will follow," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.

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LF, FPM welcome Lebanese-Palestinian agreement to disarm camps

Long-time foes Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement both welcomed an agreement between Lebanese and Palestinian leaders to disarm Palestinian camps.

LF leader Samir Geagea said Thursday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has always worked towards maintaining "healthy Lebanese-Palestinian ties" and later called Abbas to discuss the latest developments with him and praise his stance on the camps' disarmament.

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Will Israel disrupt municipal vote in south Lebanon?

Conflicting reports have emerged on whether the Lebanese state has obtained U.S. guarantees that Israel would not threaten the safety of the municipal and mayoral polls that will be held Saturday in south Lebanon.

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Qassem urges supporters to secure 'resounding' win in polls despite Israeli attacks

Despite a rise in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon in recent days, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has called on supporters to go out to municipal polls in the country’s south and secure a "resounding" victory.

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Report: Israel to keep striking Hezbollah 'with US cover'

Hezbollah is “trying to regain its strength in Lebanon” and Israel will keep targeting it across across the country “with a U.S. cover,” an Israeli security source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath television.

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PM Salam condemns latest widespread Israeli strikes

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Israel’s attacks "will not deter the state from its commitment to the electoral process,", after Israel carried out strikes on multiple areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday, some far from the border, only two days before municipal elections are slated to take place in south Lebanon.

Salam called for more international pressure to make Israel stop bombing his country.

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Israeli strikes hit south and Bekaa amid rare evacuation warning for building in Toul

Lebanese state media said an Israeli air strike hit a building in southern Lebanon on Thursday after Israel's military issued an evacuation call warning of imminent action against an alleged Hezbollah site.

Israel has kept up its air strikes in neighboring Lebanon despite a November truce aimed at halting more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah that included two months of full-blown war.

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British Ambassador visits Lebanon's eastern borders with Syria

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell visited Thursday Lebanon's eastern borders with Syria to see first-hand the UK's efforts to support the Lebanese Armed Forces' (LAF) enhanced border security capabilities.

"This visit underscores the UK's commitment to strengthening LAF capabilities in extending state authority over its border with Syria, countering smuggling activities, and safeguarding local communities," the British Embassy said in a statement.

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Berri urges southerners to 'vote heavily' on Saturday

Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday called on southerners to vote heavily in Saturday’s municipal and mayoral polls, especially in towns near the border, to tell Israel that “these dear towns will only be Lebanese.”

“The human is Lebanon’s capital and participation in everything that creates the life of the state and society is the path toward freedom, justice and development,” Berri said in an appeal.

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