Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that the first phase of the weapons monopolization plan related to the area south of the Litani River is "only days away from completion."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington is "hopeful" the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations will lead to a potential deal.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has published a long-awaited banking draft bill, which distributes losses from the 2019 economic crisis between banks and the state.

The draft law is a key demand from the international community, which has conditioned economic aid to Lebanon on financial reforms.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday charged that the quorum for Thursday’s legislative session was secured due to the “collusion” of President Joseph Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, warning against the emergence of a new “troika.”

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will announce on Friday a long-awaited banking draft bill, which envisions sharing losses from the 2019 economic crisis between banks and the state, a Lebanese official said.

The legislation, which has come to be known as the fiscal gap law, is a key demand from the international community, which has conditioned economic aid to Lebanon on financial reforms.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the Mechanism meeting held in Naqoura as “a continuation of the security dialogue aimed at ensuring the disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese army.”

“During the meeting, ways to promote economic projects were discussed in order to underscore the mutual interest in removing the Hezbollah threat and ensuring sustainable security for residents on both sides of the border,” Netanyahu added, in a statement released by his office.

Egypt is doing all it can to prevent further escalation between Lebanon and Israel amid tension between the two sides over the disarmament process of Hezbollah, the Egyptian prime minister said Friday during a visit to the Lebanese capital.

Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has been working for months to deescalate the regional tensions and Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly's visit to Beirut comes after similar trips to the small Arab nation by Egypt's foreign minister and intelligence chief.

President Joseph Aoun on Friday emphasized “the priority of the return of the border villages’ residents to their villages, homes and land as a gateway for discussing all the other details” with Israel, after the U.S.-led Mechanism committee held a second meeting in the presence of Lebanese and Israeli civilian officials.

Civilian and military representatives from Lebanon and Israel met on Friday as part of the 'Mechanism' committee monitoring implementation of the year-long Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said, noting that the "security and economic tracks" advanced "in parallel" in the talks.

It was the second time civilian representatives from Lebanon and Israel have taken part in a committee meeting, which also includes the United States, France and the United Nations.

The move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country and also help encourage investments, the head of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon said.