Israeli occupying forces opened machine gun fire overnight, trapping a number of residents in the southern town of Harees, who appealed to the Lebanese Army to evacuate them.

German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul has proposed deploying a European Union force in Lebanon to replace the U.N. peacekeeping mission whose mandate is soon to expire, in order to prevent a security vacuum.

An electronic Lebanese-Israeli-U.S. meeting scheduled for Friday has been postponed with the aim of preparing the necessary files, LBCI television reported on Friday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the two-decade-long campaign to restrict weapons solely to state authorities and bolster national sovereignty has yielded significant milestones.

In an interview published Friday in the Saudi daily Okaz, Geagea lauded the Lebanese Cabinet, arguing that its participation in direct negotiations with Israel in Washington is a primary indicator of change and a proof that Hezbollah has been defeated.

MP Ali Fayyad of Hezbollah on Friday charged that the Lebanese leadership "has abandoned its people, indifferent to their suffering and the extent of the crimes committed against them by the Israelis."

"This ruling authority seems to have become corrupt and is persisting in its choices despite all the failures and despite all the advice and criticism directed at it from abroad and within, even from its allies," Fayyad added.

It was just before sunrise when the last columns of Israeli tanks crossed from Lebanon back into Israel and then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who ordered the withdrawal, said the homecoming of Israeli troops sent "shivers down his spine."

That was May 24, 2000, the day Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon.

The European Union and Lebanon held Thursday a 4th meeting of a Sub-Committee on Transport, Energy, Environment and Water, the EU delegation to Lebanon said.

"The meeting builds on ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation in key sectors, which the EU has significantly supported in recent years, amid current challenges," the European delegation said.

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz told his U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth early Thursday that Israel is determined to keep its forces in "security zones" it has carved out inside Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Katz's office said the two men spoke overnight and the minister "emphasized Israel's determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon in order to protect Israel's borders and the communities near the border from the threats posed by jihadist forces".

MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hezbollah stressed Thursday that Hezbollah “will not hand over the weapons.”

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah lashed out Friday at President Joseph Aoun for playing "partisan" politics and "fueling division" instead of uniting the war-torn country.

Fadlallah accused Aoun of "turning the presidential palace into a partisan platform for factions whose history and alignments are well-known."