School bus driver Ali al-Dorr averts his gaze every time he passes the rubble of his son's home -- destroyed by an Israeli strike in south Lebanon despite a year-old ceasefire.

Though his son managed to evacuate in time, the attack left notebooks, papers and furniture strewn among the debris of the apartment building in Qannarit, overlooking the coastal city of Sidon, the scene of several strikes in recent weeks that Israel says targeted Hezbollah.

Political negotiations are underway, led by regional actors, with the aim of reaching a "security agreement with Lebanon," the pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper quoted informed sources as saying.

The Americans are saying that they are interested in arranging this agreement and Hezbollah is not showing opposition, the daily said.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber on Tuesday held a press conference to defend the controversial taxes that were imposed by the government overnight.

"We have reached a critical juncture with a paralyzed and struggling public sector. A decision was necessary. Negotiations took place with the military, and a meeting was held at the Ministry of Defense. The consensus was to approve the salary increase, and those present understood that approving it without revenues would expose the country to a crisis, Jaber said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Tuesday inspected the impoverished northern city of Tripoli, accompanied by Minister of Social Affairs Hanin El Sayed, kicking off his visit by meeting with families temporarily residing in building of the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

Dozens of unsafe buildings were evacuated in Tripoli after the recent collapse of two buildings that killed at least 15 people.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stressed Tuesday that Israel will not withdraw its forces from south Lebanon as long as Hezbollah has weapons.

“Our presence at five points in southern Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire agreement, but we imposed it, and the United States accepted it," Katz added.

The key Ring highway in Beirut and the vital Khalde road just outside the capital were blocked on Tuesday in protest at the government’s overnight decision to hike gasoline prices by 25% and the Valued Added Tax (VAT) from 11% to 12%.

The government said it made the move in order to fund a wage increase for the public sector and the armed forces equivalent to six times their wages in Lebanese pound in 2019.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino received a Lebanese passport at the Interior Ministry in Beirut on Monday, months after he was granted citizenship by President Joseph Aoun.

Infantino, who is married to Lebanese citizen Lina al-Ashkar, thanked Aoun at a meeting at the Interior Ministry where Infantino filed documents and had a photograph and fingerprints taken before being handed his new blue Lebanese passport.

Lebanon's government said Monday that the army would need at least four months to implement the second phase of the military's plan to disarm Hezbollah in the country's south.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday criticized the Lebanese government for offering “continuous concessions” to Israel, suggesting that the Lebanese state should halt all steps related to the so-called arms monopolization plan.

“If you want to surrender, amend the constitution, because the constitution's essence is confrontation and defense for the sake of liberation,” said Qassem in a televised speech commemorating Hezbollah’s slain leaders Ragheb Harb, Abbas al-Moussawi and Imad Mughniyeh.

Today's cabinet session appears unlikely to be decisive in setting detailed timelines for the plan to confine weapons north of the Litani River, a media report said.

“Observers do not rule out the possibility that this article will be a contentious issue, especially since the contacts made in the past two days have not yielded a solution acceptable to all parties,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday.