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At least 1 killed as Israel says targeted 2 Hezbollah members in South

An Israeli drone on Sunday bombed an excavator and a Renault Rapid utility car between the southern towns of Zibqin and al-Shuaitiyeh in the Tyre district, the National News Agency said.

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Ortagus holds 'constructive' talks with Aoun at start of Lebanon visit

Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus held a “constructive” meeting with President Joseph Aoun on Saturday morning as she kicked off an official visit to Lebanon, the Presidency said.

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What will Lebanon leaders tell Ortagus?

As Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus is due in Beirut in a diplomatic bid to resolve several outstanding issues between Lebanon and Israel, Israel carried out Friday a strike on south Lebanon's port city of Sidon, killing a Hamas commander, despite a truce reached in late November.

A senior official told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the three Lebanese leaders - Speaker Nabih Berri, PM Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun - will tell Ortagus that Lebanon's priority is the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the five points where they are still deployed in south Lebanon and the cessation of Israeli attacks and violations.

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Salam condemns Israeli strike on Sidon

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Friday an Israeli strike on the port city of Sidon as a "flagrant attack on Lebanese sovereignty" and a breach of the November 27 ceasefire.

Hamas commander Hassan Farhat was killed in the strike on his apartment along with his daughter and his son, also a member of the Palestinian group’s military wing.

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Berri says postponing elections 'out of question', south would vote despite ruins

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that the municipal elections will not be postponed despite the devastation caused by more than 13-monthes of war with Israel.

"Postponing the elections is absolutely out of the question," Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

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Al-Rahi says disarming Hezbollah needs time, timing unsuitable for normalization

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Thursday that “the time has come for unifying arms Lebanon,” adding that “this is what was stipulated in the Taif Agreement.”

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Israel says negotiations ongoing over Lebanon border, prisoners

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday that negotiations are ongoing over the border dispute with Lebanon and the release of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel.

After meeting his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot in Paris, Saar said that Turkey is playing a negative role in Syria and Lebanon, adding that Israel wants "the stability of Lebanon, the continuation of the ceasefire, and liberating Lebanon from Iranian occupation."

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Drone strikes injure 3 in South as health center bombed in Naqoura

Two people were wounded Thursday in an Israeli drone strike on a car on the Bint Jbeil road in south Lebanon, the Health Ministry said.

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Bassil says Hezbollah military role 'no longer acceptable'

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has said that its old ally Hezbollah can no longer have a military role and has to abide by the Lebanese constitution and rules.

"We had an understanding but it no longer exists," Bassil said Tuesday, accusing Hezbollah of going to a war that was not in Lebanon's interest. "This has greatly weakened our relations, but it is still a Lebanese party and we have to talk to them just like we talk to all the other parties."

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Ortagus to visit Lebanon in coming hours amid calls to disarm Hezbollah

Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus will arrive in Beirut in the coming hours, al-Jadeed TV said Wednesday.

Ortagus had stressed the need to fully disarm Hezbollah and said Washington wants diplomatic negotiations and peace between Lebanon and Israel, but newly elected President Joseph Aoun assured that Hezbollah’s arms will not be removed by force and that normalization with Israel was not on the table.

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