The Lebanese Civil Defense has been handed over at the Masnaa border crossing the bodies of two Lebanese men who were shot dead in Syria's Homs in addition to a wounded Lebanese national.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he will be "decisive" in the January 9 presidential election session.

Lebanese security forces have apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media.

The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday denied media reports claiming that Lebanon has been indirectly informed that Israel will not withdraw from south Lebanon after the end of the 60-day period stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat wrote Friday on the X platform that "the Lebanese Foreign Ministry has finally woken up from its deep sleep and noticed that a change has happened in Syria."

The Israeli army withdrew Thursday from the southern areas of Qantara, Adsheet al-Qusayr and Wadi al-Hujeir after it made a several-hour incursion that forced residents to flee and involved the abduction and wounding of a Lebanese UNIFIL employee.

Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted Yemen's Sanaa airport, the Hodeida port and energy and oil facilities, in an apparent response to missile and drone strikes on Israel by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

A missile launched from Yemen had triggered air raid sirens across central Israel early Wednesday, sending millions of residents looking for cover for the second night in a row.

Footage of a priest with a machinegun slung over his shoulder inside a church in Lebanon’s Mazraat Yachouh has gone viral on social media and stirred controversy in the country.

Syrian interim foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani has received a phone call from Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Syria's official news agency SANA said.

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun has traveled to Saudi Arabia at an invitation from his Saudi counterpart Air Chief Marshal Fayyadh al-Ruwaili, the Lebanese Army said on Thursday.