U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has warned that Lebanon’s failure to take tangible steps toward disarming Hezbollah would lead to perpetuating the current situation which involves airstrikes in the South and drones over Beirut, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has told Lebanese MPs and ministers in his meetings in Beirut that the U.S. cannot give guarantees to Lebanon in return for Hezbollah’s disarmament, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has received from Lebanon a “serious proposal” calling for a “gradual” solution for the thorny issue of Hezbollah’s arms, media reports said on Thursday.

President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that Lebanon is “at a pivotal crossroads, which might be fateful,” adding that “our unity, cooperation and solidarity are essential in order for us to confront all challenges.”

Israeli troops made an 800-meter incursion into Houla at dawn Thursday and blew up a livestock room facing the al-Abbad Israeli military post, the National News Agency said.

Sitting near a poster of Che Guevara inside his French prison cell before his release this week, pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah said the "struggle" kept him going during his four decades behind bars.
A court last week ordered the 74-year-old -- who was jailed over the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats in Paris -- be released from the Lannemezan prison in southern France on Friday.

The European Union on Wednesday announced a new €12.5 million project to support the Lebanese Army in "leading recovery efforts, enhancing security and helping communities in Southern Lebanon rebuild."
The project will be implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed his optimism in the wake of his meeting with visiting U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who rarely leaves his Maarab headquarters, on Wednesday held a meeting in Clemenceau with Druze leader Walid Jumblat.

Parliament on Wednesday lifted the parliamentary immunity of MP George Boujikian so that the judiciary can prosecute him over alleged corruption charges dating back to his tenure as industry minister in the previous government.
