U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa criticized Hezbollah on Thursday, arguing that the Lebanese people broadly agree on the necessity of disarming the group despite differing approaches. "Thus, Hezbollah must hand over its arms to the state," he said.

The remarks came following a meeting with the spiritual head of the Druze community in Lebanon, Sheikh Sami Abi Al-Muna.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said Thursday during a multi-front situation assessment that numerous challenges remain before Israel.

Noting that Israel is “conducting combat operations on all fronts, from Iran and Lebanon to Gaza,” Zamir adding that the army is also “maintaining a high state of readiness due to the potential for escalation on multiple fronts.”

President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday said Lebanon has “made the decision to negotiate to avoid the devastation and tragedies caused by war.”

“While negotiations are not easy or quick, and there are obstacles and difficulties, they remain far better than war,” Aoun stressed.

The battle against Hezbollah has not ended yet and the group suffered major damage but is still present as an organization, an Israeli military source said.

The Israeli army targeted multiple towns across southern Lebanon overnight into Wednesday, including Hadatha, al-Qantara, al-Mansouri, Ali al-Taher, and Kfar Remman.

Israeli forces were also burning, bulldozing and detonating lands and houses in Bouyout al-Siyed, Majdalzoun, Serbine, Bani Hayan, al-Khiam and Markaba.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have not stopped because Hezbollah has not surrendered its weapons, American Ambassador Michel Issa said Wednesday as he visited Dar al-Fatwa.

"Hezbollah does not want to do anything, so why do we ask Israel to do everything? Why do you only ask Israel to withdraw, and you don't ask Hezbollah to disarm?" he asked after he met Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian.

An Israeli military source on Monday criticized the Lebanese Army’s performance in the so-called pilot zones in south Lebanon, noting that “it has not entered private property” there and that its search operations are “partial.”

President Joseph Aoun noted Monday that the Prophet’s Birthday holiday comes this year “as Lebanon faces grave challenges, from repeated Israeli attacks against its sovereignty, land and sons in the South and the various regions, to economic and living crises that are still burdening its citizens.”

MP Ali Fayyad, a member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc, on Monday pointed out that "it is clear the Americans are pressuring the Lebanese authorities to tighten the noose around Hezbollah and its institutions, even to the point of confrontation.”

Two young men were killed in an overnight strike on Kfar Remman, the National News Agency said Monday.

Hussein Shakaroun and Ahmad Roumani, both 17 years old, were targeted by an Israeli drone while riding their motorbikes.