Pope Leo XIV embarks on his debut overseas trip Thursday, travelling to Turkey and Lebanon to promote Christian unity and urge peace efforts amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Israel killed Hezbollah's military chief in a strike on Beirut on Sunday, the Israeli military and the militant group said, hitting an apartment building and killing five people according to Lebanese authorities.

Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah's top military chief whom Israel killed on Sunday, had taken the role after the group's senior leaders died in the most recent war with Israel.

He is the most important Hezbollah figure to have been killed since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities between the militant group and Israel, including two months of full-blown war.

Hezbollah confirmed that senior leader Haytham Ali Tabtabai was killed in Israel's strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron has noted that the situation in Lebanon "remains extremely fragile," as he described President Joseph Aoun's latest speech as "very important."

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.