President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Israel's occupation of the south was preventing the Lebanese army's deployment to the area, as the two sides prepare to implement a deal involving the deployment and gradual Israeli withdrawal.

According to a statement from his office, Aoun emphasized the need to pressure Israel to withdraw its forces "because the persistence of the occupation undermines the legitimacy of the (Lebanese) state and prevents the army from deploying and the laying of the foundations for achieving a just and lasting peace".

An Israeli strike on a car in the country's south on Monday killed four people, including three women, despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said a school principal, her mother, a foreign female domestic worker and a male Syrian worker were killed when "an Israeli drone targeted the car" they were travelling in as they returned from inspecting their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, visited troops stationed near Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon on Sunday, vowing that the army would "continue to operate decisively to remove threats from Lebanese territory".

Israeli forces have continued to clash with Hezbollah fighters despite a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon intended to pave the way toward a lasting end to hostilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon had asked to be annexed by Israel, in order to be protected from Hezbollah militants.

Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes and 15 months of Israeli violations of a ceasefire reached in November 2024.

President Joseph Aoun has said he is "not fond of Israel," while noting that direct negotiations with it are the only way to pull Lebanon out of war and hostilities.

"I tell you, I am not fond of Israel, but give me another solution, whatever it may be, and I will proceed with it," Aoun told a group of journalists, according to Al-Jadeed TV.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it killed an armed militant in the "security zone" under its control in south Lebanon.

"Earlier today (Saturday), IDF (Israeli army) soldiers identified an armed terrorist operating inside the Security Zone, in the Majdal Zoun area in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement, adding that troops "opened fire at" the militant and, after conducting "extensive searches", then "eliminated" him.

Representatives of Tehran-backed militant groups attended the funeral ceremonies of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, with envoys from Hezbollah and Hamas meeting with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, state media reported.

Tehran has for years provided support to Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels -- all designated "terrorist" groups by the United States and other Western nations, making Iran the target of international sanctions.

On the occasion of America's 250th Independence Day, President Joseph Aoun sent a congratulatory telegram to U.S. President Donald Trump, wishing him and the American people "continued success, prosperity, and further progress."

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Saturday voiced support for Lebanon and its people, in an X post marking America's 250th Independence Day.

"This year, as America commemorates 250 years of independence, we celebrate not only the founding principles that define us, but also the enduring friendships that have shaped our nation's story," the Embassy said.

More than 640,000 displaced people in Lebanon have returned home, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have wound down following a deal to end the Middle East war.