Antoine Khoury

Lebanon will take part in talks with Israel scheduled for next week in Rome, a Lebanese official said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A US military delegation has arrived in Beirut for talks with the Lebanese army on implementing Israel's withdrawal from one of two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese military official told AFP Saturday.

Lebanon has strongly condemned Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, as regional tensions surged following U.S. strikes on more than 80 targets in Iran and earlier attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Raggi delivered one of his most direct statements yet on Tuesday, affirming that Lebanon would continue negotiations with Israel and had "no other choice", while declaring that the framework agreement signed last month has achieved something historic: the separation of Lebanon's diplomatic fate from Iran's.

Four people were killed by an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanon's state news agency reported, testing a fragile ceasefire in the conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. 

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Syria, the Syrian presidency announced Sunday, without specifying a date. The visit would make him the first Western head of state to travel to Damascus since President Ahmad al-Sharaa came to power in late 2024.

Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï welcomed Sunday the framework agreement signed in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, while delivering a pointed warning that Lebanon must never become a bargaining chip in regional or international negotiations.

The Israeli military withdrawal from two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, scheduled under last Friday's framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, has been postponed until both sides agree on a "joint supervision mechanism," Israeli Channel 11 reported.

Syria and Iraq agreed Tuesday to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors, including energy, marking the first visit by Iraq's foreign minister to Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

The framework agreement reached Friday between Lebanon and Israel at the fifth round of Washington negotiations is drawing sharply contrasting reactions across Lebanon's political landscape, with Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel declaring victory and Aounist figure Gebran Bassil sounding notes of caution.

Hezbollah supporters stormed the streets of Beirut on Friday night, riding motorcycles through central neighbourhoods near Parliament and along the road leading to Beirut's international airport, in a furious reaction to the framework agreement signed in Washington between Lebanon, Israel and the United States.

Lebanon's Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar ordered Thursday the removal of pro-Iran banners that had been displayed along the road leading to Beirut's international airport, the country's most visible gateway to the world.