President Joseph Aoun and First Lady Nehmat Aoun on Friday visited Amani Bazzi Sharara, the mother who lost three of her children and her husband in an Israeli drone strike in Bint Jbeil on September 21.

The mother has been receiving treatment at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Hamra.

Ain el-Tineh sources hit back overnight at remarks by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam about the government’s performance in war-hit south Lebanon, saying that the situation there is obvious and that the public opinion can easily judge it.

Salam had voiced surprise over statements by Berri, who said that “the government does not care about our people in the South.”

Syria's foreign minister arrived in Beirut on Friday in what observers say could mark a breakthrough in relations between the two neighbors, which have been tense for decades.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Youssef Rajji and and later with President Joseph Aoun. He is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. It is the first high-profile Syrian visit to Lebanon since insurgent groups overthrew President Bashar Assad's government in early December 2024.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has said that Lebanon has not received any “foreign warnings” regarding a possible new Israeli war on it, adding that Lebanon is required to monopolize arms, which is a “key file” in the country.

“The army has made major achievements as to arms monopolization, and this matter cannot be completed with the press of a button and requires patience,” Bou Saab told LBCI television.

The Lebanese Army has made “key achievements” in disarming Hezbollah in the area north of the Litani River while keeping its moves confidential, seeing as some sites were labeled as “military secrets,” a ministerial source said.

“This indicates that the spread of arms on Lebanese territory has become under monitoring and pursuit, regardless of the side that owns it,” the source told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri accused Thursday the Lebanese government of ignoring the residents of the southern border villages, claiming that the Raouche light show has taken much more attention from the government than rebuilding the war-hit villages in order for the residents to return home.

"Unfortunately, (the government is acting) as if the South is not part of Lebanon," Berri decried, adding that the 2026 budget will not pass if it does not include a clear clause related to the reconstruction.

The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell, has hosted a reception in honor of the Minister of Social Affairs (MoSA) Haneen Sayed and a visiting research team from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex, reaffirming the United Kingdom’s "strong and long-standing partnership with Lebanon on social protection and gender equality," the British embassy said.

The event brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including Members of Parliament from the UK and Lebanon, local and regional partners, civil society representatives, journalists, and advocates, to celebrate "ongoing collaboration and shared priorities in advancing an inclusive social protection system in Lebanon."

Benny Wexler, an ultra-Orthodox Israeli with foreign citizenship who has visited over 100 countries, has disguised his identity to tour the Lebanese capital's Dahieh district and the city’s last remaining synagogue.

Fearing discovery, Wexler took extreme precautions to conceal his Israeli identity. “From the moment I realized I was flying to Beirut, the fear kicked in. I couldn’t sleep at night and had to take medication for the headaches,” he said. “I booked my flight through an American travel agent so my Israeli IP address wouldn’t be detected,” he added, according to Israel’s Ynet news portal.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned Thursday against Israel's possible reneging on an overnight Gaza ceasefire deal, accusing it of having a history of disrespecting all agreements, including the November ceasefire deal with Lebanon.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has kept up almost daily attacks on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, and has also maintained troops in five areas of southern Lebanon it deems "strategic".

Lebanon has arrested 32 people in recent months on suspicion of providing Israel with information on Hezbollah that facilitated strikes on the group, a judicial official told AFP on Thursday.

More than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah including two months of open war saw Israel pummel the group's arsenal and kill a slew of senior commanders, and it has kept up strikes even after a November truce.