Spotlight
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has called the ceasefire that ended the war between Israel and the Hezbollah in November “a total failure” because Israel is still bombing Lebanon and Hezbollah is accused of violating the agreement’s terms.

Hezbollah members and supporters held a funeral Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs for the former bodyguard and head of security of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the group's longtime leader.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike in south Beirut last year, while his former bodyguard Abou Ali Khalil was killed in Iran during last month's Israel-Iran war, along with his son Mahdi.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Thursday sanctions on seven senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
The U.S. Treasury said the seven officials have served in senior management roles for Al-Qard Al-Hassan and have facilitated the evasion of U.S. sanctions, enabling Hezbollah’s access to the formal financial system. "Today’s action underscores Treasury’s commitment to disrupting Hezbollah’s sanctions evasion schemes and supporting efforts by the new Lebanese government to limit the terrorist group’s influence, particularly as entities like AQAH continue to undermine the already fragile Lebanese economy," the U.S. Department of the Treasury said.

An Israeli drone targeted Thursday a car on the Khaldeh highway at Beirut’s southern entrance, as the Israeli army said it hit a "terrorist" working for Iran.
The Israeli army said it "eliminated a terrorist responsible for smuggling weapons and advancing terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, on behalf of the Iranian Quds Force", the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that Hezbollah's disarmament is a domestic issue and that Israel "has no business interfering in domestic affairs."
"We will not accept to hand over our land and our arms to the Israeli enemy," Qassem said Wednesday, adding that Hezbollah has the right to resist Israel and will not give up on this right or be affected by pressures.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that “things are going in a positive manner with President Joseph Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri” regarding Lebanon’s response to the U.S. paper of demands.

Syria is now ready to work on land demarcation with Lebanon, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said Tuesday.
Rajji said Lebanon has received "secret documents" from France of a French demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border that would help the two countries demarcate their land borders.

A child was lightly wounded in an Israeli drone strike Tuesday on the road leading to the al-Jabal al-Ahmar area in the southern Nabatieh district, the Health Ministry said.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that his Iran-backed group is in a “defensive state” in Lebanon, calling on other Lebanese not to “help Israel and America in their schemes.”

A meeting between representatives of President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has been underway at the Baabda Palace since Monday morning, Al-Jadeed TV reported in the afternoon.
