Israel's military said Friday a man seized last year in Lebanon's Batroun was a Hezbollah operative who played a key role in planning a covert maritime force for the militant group.

The Israeli army said special unit troops apprehended Imad Amhaz in November 2024 from the north Lebanese city of Batroun, and transferred him to Israel.

Lebanese Army chief General Rodolphe Haykal agreed to document the army's progress in disarming Hezbollah during talks Thursday with international envoys in Paris, the French foreign ministry said, as Beirut seeks to forestall expanded Israeli attacks.

Israel and Hezbollah clashed for more than a year after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, and a November 2024 ceasefire was meant to put an end to the hostilities, but Israel has kept up its strikes, accusing the group of rearming.

The U.S. is optimistic over the Mechanism meeting that will be held on Friday and will push for a “serious and fruitful dialogue” between Lebanon and Israel, diplomats told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

Several regional diplomatic sources meanwhile agreed, in remarks to the same daily, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not seem to be in favor of going to an all-out war after the holidays, “not only for military reasons, but rather because the war option has become invalid for electoral exploitation as the date of the Israeli legislative elections expected in October nears.”

Israel has informed Washington that it has “no deadline for using force in Lebanon,” sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

“Iran is succeeding in smuggling arms and funds to Hezbollah,” a U.S. official told the channel.

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

The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the administration of President Donald Trump previously temporarily lifted the penalties by executive order. The vote came as part of the passage of the country's annual defense spending bill. Trump is expected to sign off on the final repeal Thursday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has argued that Israeli strikes against Hezbollah do not violate Lebanon’s sovereignty, noting instead that the Iran-backed group is the party undermining the country’s sovereignty.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya English, Saar said Israel has only “minor” disputes with Lebanon that could be easily resolved, adding that the real problems stem from Hezbollah and Iran.

Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal met Thursday in Paris with French army chief Fabien Mandon ahead of a key meeting with U.S., French and Saudi officials to discuss ways of assisting the army in its mission to boost its presence in the border area.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described Thursday a series of Israeli strikes on east and south Lebanon as a "message" to a Paris conference dedicated to supporting the Lebanese army.

The meeting in Paris is taking place today with the Lebanese army chief and American and Saudi officials, at a time when France and the United States are pressuring the Lebanese government to accelerate Hezbollah's disarmament.

The Lebanese Ministry of Labor and the American University of Beirut (AUB), through its Government Engagement Platform (GEP), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a comprehensive framework for long-term collaboration to strengthen Lebanon’s labor sector through evidence, innovation, and institutional capacity building.

The signing ceremony at AUB brought together Dr. Mohamad Haidar, minister of labor; Dr. Fadlo Khouri, AUB president; Dr. Imad Baalbaki, AUB senior vice president for advancement and business development; Dr. Yousof Sidani, dean of the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at AUB; Dr. Kamal Badr, deputy vice president and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at AUB; Dr. Abla Sibai, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at AUB; Dr. Mohamad Karaki, director general of the National Social Security Fund; and Marlene Atallah, acting director general of the Ministry of Labor, alongside senior university leadership, faculty members, researchers, and representatives from the Ministry of Labor.

A parliamentary session convened Thursday with the attendance of 67 MPs -- barely meeting the required quorum --, despite a boycott by the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb MPs in protest against Speaker Nabih Berri's refusal to amend the electoral law regarding expatriate voting rights.

The session will discuss a loan by the World Bank for the reconstruction of war-hit regions in Lebanon.