The Lebanese Army announced that it has seized nearly 250 kilograms of explosives being transported from neighboring Syria into Lebanon, though it was unable to apprehend the smugglers.

"An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT, four explosive devices, eight detonators and electrical wiring for the detonators," which were being "smuggled from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory," the army said in a statement.

U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa warned Deputy Head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib last month that Israel would launch a full-scale military invasion reaching as far as Beirut, if Hezbollah does not hand over its weapons, al-Modon newspaper reported.

The daily said Thursday that Israel has delivered many messages, directly and indirectly to Lebanon, demanding a full disarmament of the Iran-backed group, including in Jabal al-Rihan and Iqlim al-Tuffah.

Representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanon’s Hezbollah held face-to-face talks in Turkey last month to try to calm tensions ​between them, media reports said on Thursday.

The reports said the meeting went well and ​took place at the invitation of Turkish security and intelligence agencies.

The Israeli army announced Thursday that its air force targeted more than 500 goals in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip over the past month.

In a statement, the Israeli military said that the Air Force continues to operate on various fronts to eliminate what it described as "threats," as well as to support fighting forces in both offensive and defensive operations.

The Israeli army targeted overnight into Thursday the southern border towns of Mansouri, Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, Ali al-Taher and Hadatha-Harees with airstrikes and artillery shelling.

Israeli forces also carried out detonations in Houla and al-Mansouri and fired machineguns at Hadatha and Wadi Slouqi.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that Lebanon wants “a state-to-state relationship with Iran based on mutual respect,” adding that “this is what we asked of the Iranians” during his meeting with the Iranian delegation in New York.

As for the trilateral agreement with Israel, Salam told Asharq Bloomberg in an interview that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio “is aligned with us on the necessity of having a verification process for the trilateral agreement.”

It appears that the political leaderships of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement have intervened to “contain the fallout and prevent a deeper rift,” following the latest war of words between the two parties, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper has reported.

U.S.-sponsored negotiations between Lebanon and Israel are expected to resume in Tampa, Florida, ahead of the upcoming Israeli elections, a local media report said.

The report published Wednesday on MTV claimed that the new round of talks is tentatively scheduled for October 20.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in their Monday meeting in Washington that the implementation of the framework agreement with Israel should be "reciprocal."

Salam told MTV that disarming Hezbollah is "a Lebanese demand above all else". He said he told Rubio "you need two to tango, whereas we are three today," hinting at Israel's occupation of south Lebanon.

The Lebanese military said on Wednesday that the explosion of an unknown object wounded a soldier and three civilians, after initially saying it was an Israeli strike.

"A soldier and three civilians were wounded in the Nabatieh al-Fawqa area as a result of an explosion while the army was escorting residents to inspect their properties in the area," the army said in a statement.