In a post on X, United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert urged "all parties in Lebanon" to "prioritize, in words and actions, the need to shield the country and its people from unfolding regional developments".

The remarks come after Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran.

President Joseph Aoun urged everyone to show full commitment to national responsibility and to prioritize Lebanon's interests and the Lebanese people above any other consideration, after Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, with fears in Lebanon that Hezbollah joins the fray.

Aoun said that "sparing Lebanon from the disasters and horrors of external conflicts, and safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and stability, are absolute priorities."

As Lebanon prepares for its parliamentary elections, several media reports and politicians claim that the country is under pressure to postpone the juncture.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denied the claims, in an interview Thursday. No one has urged him to hold or to postpone the elections, he said.

In a step carrying political indications, al-Mustaqbal Movement has asked dozens of its members and figures close to it to officially submit their parliamentary vote nominations next week, An-Nahar newspaper reported on Friday.

The Movement, whose political activities have been suspended for the past few years, intends to take part in the elections in terms of both nominations and voting, the daily said.

Embassies concerned with the Lebanese file have delivered warning messages to President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam, cautioning them that “any intervention from Lebanon in the war with Israel will lead to a harsh new war,” diplomatic sources told Al-Jadeed TV.

“The Israeli war messages began to arrive through the latest airstrikes, amid information about an escalation that will first begin in the Bekaa,” military sources told the TV network.

Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil hit Friday at Prime Minister Nawaf Salam for being a judge who doesn't respect the law, after the latter said that the current electoral law allows expatriates to vote for all 128 deputies.

Salam's comments come as Lebanon heads to parliamentary elections with ambiguity over how the expats would vote. Amal and Hezbollah are in favor of implementing a suspended law that only allows expats to vote for six newly-introduced seats instead of voting for all 128 seats. They argue that they do not enjoy the same campaigning freedom that other parties enjoy abroad.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who had visited earlier this month several war-hit southern cities and towns, said that the state has returned to south Lebanon "to stay".

He vowed, in a televised interview Thursday, to visit the south again and to secure all means of subsistence for its residents.

Israeli military strikes in eastern Lebanon killed a Syrian teenager on Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry reported, while the Israeli army said it had struck eight compounds belonging to an elite Hezbollah unit.

"Israeli enemy air strikes on the Bekaa this evening resulted, according to an initial toll, in the killing of a 16-year-old Syrian boy and the injury of another person," the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement.

An Israeli drone struck Thursday the Ali al-Taher forest in the Nabatieh district.

The Israeli army had earlier said that over recent months, its forces have destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure in south Lebanon, preventing the group from rebuilding itself.

As Cabinet convened Thursday at the Grand Serail, Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said it is more likely than not that the parliamentary elections will be held on time, with the number of candidates rising to 30.

"The ministry has not received any request to postpone," he told MTV before the cabinet session.