U.S. President Donald Trump said overnight that he would invite President Joseph Aoun to the White House.

On behalf of the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday offered his "best wishes and heartfelt congratulations" to the people of Lebanon as they commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the country's independence.

"This year, the Government of Lebanon has taken courageous steps to promote a brighter future for the Lebanese people," Rubio said in a statement, apparently referring to the government's arms monopolization decisions.

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed one person on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said, in the latest attack on the area despite a nearly year-long ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

President Joseph Aoun on Friday said that Lebanon "has grown tired of the state's absence" and "the Lebanese have grown exhausted of the projects of statelets."

Efforts are ongoing within official political and intelligence channels in order to reschedule a new visit for Army chief Rodolphe Haykal to Washington within 48 hours, a media report said.

Haykal would meanwhile renew “his pledge to remove arms south and north of the Litani by the end of this year,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Friday that Lebanon no longer has the luxury of wasting time and opportunities, calling for peace and tolerance.

"We have squandered many opportunities, including the Taif Agreement, the failure to deploy the army in the South in 2000 and to manage our political affairs after the Syrian mandate," Salam said.

The Lebanese Forces said in a statement Friday that the real "spreaders of venom" are Hezbollah, without naming the group, after pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar published a report in which it accused a senior LF official of being an "informant" on Hezbollah to the U.S. administration.

President Joseph Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri had both mentioned Lebanese politicians "spreading venom" in Washington without naming them.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa has started his diplomatic efforts and contacts between Lebanese officials and the U.S. officials who are in charge with the Lebanese file in his administration, media reports said.

Issa has met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam for a second time since his arrival in Lebanon, the reports added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has noted that "the threat posed by Hezbollah today is completely different from what it was before October 7," stressing that "everything has changed."

He explained that Iran may try to rebuild the so-called Axis of Resistance, emphasizing that "Israel will work to prevent that in Lebanon and elsewhere."

President Joseph Aoun said Friday, amid a visit to the south Litani sector command, that the army is committed to protecting the Lebanese and the southeners despite being targeted by campaigns of defamation and incitement.

During the visit, a day ahead of Lebanon's independence day, Aoun hoped that the next independence day would come with the entire south liberated and only the Lebanese flag raised on its borders.