A senior Israeli official on Thursday lauded “the Lebanese Army’s efforts in collecting Hezbollah’s arms in south Lebanon,” noting that “the Lebanese government is serious about dismantling Hezbollah’s military capabilities in the South.”

Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College

After a 12-day war launched by Israel and joined briefly by the United States, Iran has emerged weakened and vulnerable. And that has massive implications for another country in the region: Lebanon.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack told the Lebanese officials he met with during his latest visit to Beirut that there is a “three-month window” to reach a solution regarding Hezbollah’s arms, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad carried a message to Speaker Nabih Berri on the eve of the Lebanese response to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s paper, sources from the U.S. Republican Party said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met Wednesday with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia.

Aoun said after the meeting that all what he wants for Lebanon, the region and the world is "just peace through dialogue" while Christodoulides voiced Cyprus' support for Lebanon's stability, unity, and territorial sovereignty.

Hezbollah "has recovered and is now ready" to confront Israel in case of an attack on Lebanon, the group's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a televised interview.

The interview was recorded on June 11 but only broadcast Tuesday on Lebanese pan-Arabist news channel al-Mayadeen.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to hold direct negotiations with Hezbollah in parallel with Washington’s efforts with the Lebanese state, a Western diplomatic source in Jerusalem said.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has said that he expects a “breakthrough” in the talks with Lebanon about the U.S. paper related to Hezbollah’s arms, reforms and the relation with Syria, adding that President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam have been “candid” and “honest” about their desire to cooperate.

The Israeli army said Wednesday its troops have recently destroyed alleged Hezbollah arms and infrastructure in Jabal Blat and al-Labbouneh in south Lebanon in "special, targeted operations".

In a statement, the Israeli army said it identified Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in several areas in south Lebanon and destroyed them to "prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing itself in the area."

An Israeli drone strike on a car in the Sidon district town of Babliyeh on killed one person overnight Tuesday, the Health Ministry said.