Lebanon, through its negotiating delegation, is currently considering incorporating the Ali al-Taher hills and surrounding towns into an expansion of the first pilot zone, a Western diplomatic source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

The proposal entails establishing an international observation post there --backed by the United States -- alongside the deployment of the Lebanese Army, with the U.S.-led Military Technical Committee for Lebanon (MTC4L) playing a key role in verifying the Lebanese Army's control over the area, the source added.

MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hezbollah on Friday warned against betting on “the weakness of Hezbollah and the Resistance.”

“We would rather die than bow," he announced.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said Thursday that his country remains committed to supporting Lebanese sovereignty and to advancing the success of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut posted the statement on the X platform, after Issa joined a Paris conference focused on strengthening Lebanon's cash-strapped army.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday, as Paris hosted security talks to drum up international support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army that Lebanon's army is "indispensable" for bringing stability to the country.

Macron said that the talks aimed to "strengthen Lebanon's sovereignty and enable it to fully ensure its security", after years during which political factions, such as Hezbollah, wielded greater authority than the Lebanese state.

Israeli forces on Friday seized control of a position established by the Lebanese Army on the outskirts of the southern town of Deir Mimas following the withdrawal of the Lebanese troops, Al-Jadeed TV said.

The Israeli army had earlier hurled six stun grenades at the entrance of Deir Mimas, demanding that the Lebanese Army remove the checkpoint from the area and arguing that it lies within the Israeli-designated Yellow Zone.

President Joseph Aoun met Friday with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after he returned from Paris where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

The Paris meetings discussed the situation in southern Lebanon and prepared the ground for a donor conference for Lebanon's cash-strapped army.

The Israeli army struck and shelled overnight into Friday several southern border towns including al-Mansouri, Majdalzoun, al-Ezziyeh, al-Qantara, Tallousa, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh.

Flare bombs were dropped on Yater and Beit Leef and detonations were carried out in Aita al-Shaab.

Lebanon's judiciary has accused 14 Lebanese and Syrians, including a Hezbollah member and an Assad-era Syria officer, of forming and training groups to launch attacks in Syria, a judicial official said Thursday.

Earlier this month, Lebanese authorities arrested a group including a former Syrian intelligence officer and several accomplices who allegedly planned attacks against the forces of Syria's new government and received training from Iran-backed Hezbollah. The group has denied the allegation.

The will of Iran and its allies to destroy Israel “has not disappeared” but “has simply weakened,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

“Even though we have accomplished the bulk of the work, there is still work to be done -- and we will do it. We will eliminate Hamas and, above all, we will defeat the Iranian regime. We will overthrow it. It will fall. We will also deal with Hezbollah, and it will fall too,” Netanyahu added.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, King Abdullah II of Jordan and senior military officials from their countries and partner nations, such as Britain and the United States, met Thursday in Paris to discuss international support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army.

The French presidency said the aim of the Paris talks was to review a Lebanese armed forces deployment plan based on a "clear, credible and realistic" framework as a prerequisite for what it hopes will be "robust" international support, whether in the form of financial assistance, equipment or training.