The U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Justice, and Europol on July 9-10 convened the fourteenth meeting of the Law Enforcement Coordination Group (LECG) on countering Hezbollah’s “terrorist and illicit activities,” a U.S. statement said.

The U.S. has said that its position “has not changed” regarding the designation of Hezbollah in its entirety as a “terrorist organization,” following recent remarks in Beirut by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.

President Joseph Aoun said Friday that the decision of monopolizing arms has been taken and won't be reversed, praising Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for his efforts.

Aoun said he appreciated Berri's role in "promoting stability, supporting state rebuilding initiatives, and upholding the principle of state authority, including the monopoly on arms."

Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea has again criticized President Joseph Aoun for his leniency toward Hezbollah as he urged for restoring Lebanon's sovereignty and the state's decision-making capacity to address challenges in the war and crisis hit country.

In a statement Thursday, Geagea said he shares the same goal of building a state with Aoun but they have a different approach toward Hezbollah's disarmament.

Reports circulating about the Syrian government's alleged intention to take escalatory steps against Lebanon are unfounded, a source from Syria's Ministry of Information told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV on Friday.

The source emphasized that the Syrian government considers the issue of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons a top priority and is committed to resolving it swiftly through official channels between the two countries.

An Israeli force blew up a “civilian room” in the Ghasouna area in the eastern outskirts of the southern border town of Blida, after making an 800-meter incursion into Lebanese territory, media reports said.

The Israeli military said it targeted Muhammad Jamal Murad, a Hezbollah artillery commander in the coastal sector, in a drone strike on Mansouri in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

The Israeli army accused Murad of being behind past rocket launches towards Israel and of attempting to rebuild Hezbollah's artillery capabilities.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has told EU ambassadors that the "safety of UNIFIL personnel is essential to Lebanon" after recent attacks on patrols.

In recent weeks, several incidents have seen civilians in Hezbollah strongholds confront UNIFIL patrols. The U.N. force sits on the ceasefire monitoring committee alongside Lebanon, Israel, France and the United States.

The U.S. paper submitted to the Lebanese state calls for “the removal of Hezbollah’s heavy arms and missiles and gradually integrating Hezbollah into the Lebanese political life,” media reports said.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has acknowledged the need to compel Israel to stop a lot of its combat operations in Lebanon and he is preparing to talk to Israel about a mechanism to rein in its combat operations and daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty, the pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper quoted two Lebanese sources as saying, one of them close to one of the three presidents (Joseph Aoun, Nabih Berri and Nawaf Salam).