The Lebanese government continues to make progress in combatting human trafficking but remains on Tier 2 in the latest global assessment by the U.S. Department of State.

According to the Department of State report, state capacity to implement anti-trafficking policies was heavily strained by the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, which displaced over one million people and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis.

President Joseph Aoun on Monday emphasized that "Lebanon adheres to the diplomatic solution despite its difficulty,” because it is “far less costly than a devastating war for which the Lebanese -- and especially the people of the South -- are paying the price.”

“It is time for Lebanon to find peace," Aoun added, in a meeting with visiting Arab League chief Nabil Fahmy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he does not trust the Lebanese government in the issue of disarming Hezbollah, adding that the Israeli army will remain in the so-called security zone in south Lebanon.

“No, I don't trust them to disarm Hezbollah,” Netanyahu told Israel’s Radio North.

Technical talks between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida, LBCI reported on Monday.

The news channel learned from official sources that U.S. Marine Corps Major General Joseph Clearfield is expected to lead the American delegation.

A small tunnel found Monday in the Northern Metn town of Fanar, near the pre-dominantly Shiite neighborhood of Zoaitriyeh, has sparked fresh controversy in the country amid tensions over Hezbollah and its weapons.

Rabbi Elie Abadie left his native Lebanon more than five decades ago and has not even visited since, but his Lebanese roots remain an integral part of his identity.

He has 3,000 Arabic songs on his smart phone. His wife, an American, learned from his mother how to cook the Lebanese dishes he loves.

From his shop in south Lebanon near the Israeli border, Mark Diab says life in his village will be turned upside down when a decades-long United Nations peacekeeping force pulls out next year.

"UNIFIL isn't just business, to us it's family," said Diab, 59, whose sister is among residents of Ibl al-Saqi who have married peacekeepers from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon over the years. She now lives in Spain.

President Joseph Aoun has met visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Baabda, saying he would welcome any effort to prevent a security vacuum in the south if U.N. peacekeepers withdraw as planned at the end of the year.

Barrot is in Beirut for a two-day visit to discuss "mechanisms for an international presence" in the south -- the scene of repeated conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah -- after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires.

The Lebanese Army deployed in and around Dahieh on Saturday following tensions involving Hezbollah supporters.

Concluding a three-day visit to Lebanon, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix reaffirmed the importance of Security Council resolution 1701 and the U.N.'s commitment to supporting peace and stability in Lebanon as UNIFIL prepares for its drawdown and planned withdrawal at the end of its mandate on 31 December 2026.