Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil said Thursday that the army must be allowed and equipped to defend Lebanon against any aggression and that Hezbollah would then deliberately hand over its arms.

Bassil accused the political authority in Lebanon of being powerless and taking orders from foreign countries, as Washington is pressing the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah.

U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack hailed Thursday Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s historic visit to Washington, saying that Syria will play an active role in assisting the United States in fighting armed groups including Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hamas and Hezbollah.

On Thursday, Barrack wrote on X that "Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), Hamas, Hizballah, and other terrorist networks".

The British Council and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) have renewed their strategic partnership under the English and School Education Program to advance education reform, strengthen school leadership, and promote inclusive and equitable learning across Lebanon.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by H.E. Dr Rima Karami, Minister of Education and Higher Education, and Mayssa Dawi Hachem, Country Director of the British Council in Lebanon, in the presence of Amir Ramzan, Regional Director, British Council MENA, Hamish Cowell, UK Ambassador to Lebanon, Dr Hyam Ishak, President of the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD), Dr Hilda El Khoury, Director of Counselling and Guidance Department at MEHE, and senior representatives from MEHE and CERD.

Israeli warplanes bombed Thursday the outskirts of Aitaroun and Tayrfelsay in south Lebanon, with Israel claiming they targeted "a Hezbollah arms depot and underground infrastructure."

Later in the day, an Israeli drone targeted a Renault Rapid vehicle in the Nabatiyeh district town of Toul, wounding one person.

President Joseph Aoun revealed Wednesday that he has told Hezbollah that “the rhetoric of war does not solve the problem,” adding that Hezbollah is not operating in the South Litani area.

Explaining why he has called for negotiations with Israel, Aoun said: “If we lack the ability to go to war, war has led us into tragedies, and there is a wave of settlements in the region, what can we do?”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday responded to Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem’s speech, stressing that U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, the 2024 ceasefire agreement and the Lebanese government’s decisions call for disarming Hezbollah across Lebanon and not only south of the Litani River.

Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel said Wednesday that Hezbollah's weapons are now a threat to the Lebanese people, after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said that there is no danger on the residents of north Israel, urging it to withdraw from south Lebanon.

"If the arms do not threaten the northern settlements according to Sheikh Naim's latest statement, then they have certainly become a tool to intimidate and pressure the Lebanese, and sway the elections."

When engineer Tarek Mazraani started campaigning for the reconstruction of war-battered southern Lebanon, Israeli drones hovered ominously overhead -- their loudspeakers sometimes calling him out by name.

Despite a ceasefire struck last November aiming to put an end to more than a year of fighting with Hezbollah, Israel has kept up near-daily strikes on Lebanon.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri urged Wednesday the ceasefire monitoring committee and member states (the U.S. and France) to stop Israel's attacks and occupation, and called on the Lebanese to stay united in the face of the Israeli aggression.

Despite a ceasefire reached in November last year, Israel has kept up its near-daily attacks on south and east Lebanon and is occupying five hills it deems "strategic" in the south.

Saudi Arabia has advised Lebanon to quickly finalize the monopolization of weapons in the country and go to “direct negotiations” with Israel, Gulf diplomatic sources said.

“The alternative will be costly and in the form of a destructive new Israeli war or a complete shunning of Lebanon by the Arab world and the West,” the sources warned, in remarks to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.