An Israeli military source stressed Thursday that the Israeli army “will not allow Hezbollah to possess weapons inside Lebanon,” adding that “the Lebanese government is trying to dismantle Hezbollah but its effectiveness is weak.”

Hezbollah chief Sheikh “Naim Qassem's decision last week to link his fate to Iran was a strategic mistake,” the source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel, referring to Qassem’s latest remarks about the possibility of supporting Iran militarily in the event of a new war.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro has stressed that "the current stage requires a fundamental internal step, namely the restoration of the Lebanese state's monopoly on the use of force."

In an interview with An-Nahar newspaper, distributed by the French Embassy in Beirut, he added: "The time has come to implement this principle, in line with the stances of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam."

A Lebanese Army delegation departed for the United States on Wednesday to meet with American military officials, ahead of the Army Commander's planned visit to Washington.

The delegation will prepare for General Rodolphe Haykal's visit next week and will meet with head of the 'Mechanism' committee General Joseph Clearfield, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Thursday.

Hezbollah has clarified to President Joseph Aoun, through unofficial channels, that Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem’s latest remarks about supporting Iran militarily were “purely religious, not political,” a media report said.

“We do not want to start a war,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper quoted Hezbollah as telling Aoun.

The war with Hezbollah has not ended, a retired Israeli Brigadier General said.

"The public mistakenly thinks that the war has ended. That is false. We will enter a period of renewed fighting on all fronts. Lebanon relates directly to what is happening right now in Iran," Amir Avivi said Wednesday.

German prosecutors said Thursday they had seized assets worth around 35 million euros ($42 million) as part of a money-laundering probe targeting Lebanon's former central bank governor Riad Salameh and four other people.

Salameh headed Lebanon's central bank between 1993 and 2023 and has faced numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad.

MP Elias Hankash of the Kataeb Party said Thursday in an address before parliament that “the issue of illegitimate weapons is neither a theoretical issue nor an ordinary political dispute.”

"It has been rather linked in the collective conscience of the Lebanese people to a series of assassinations that claimed the life of martyr (ex-)PM Rafik Hariri, as well as national leaders from the March 14 forces who were colleagues in this parliament, including Pierre Gemayel, Gebran Tueni, Walid Eido and Mohammad Chatah, in addition to security officials such as Wissam al-Hassan, Samer Hanna and others,” Hankash said.

Cabinet will convene Friday in Baabda with the reconstruction of war-hit regions on its agenda, Speaker Nabih Berri said in a parliament session.

The World Bank estimates the costs of reconstruction and recovery at $11 billion.

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad accused Israel on Thursday of failing to meet its obligations, despite Hezbollah's compliance with disarming south of the Litani River.

"We have committed to disarming south of the Litani river and not a single bullet was fired but it was met with nothing in return," Fayad said as parliament convened for a third and last day in a row to discuss the 2026 state budget.

A conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates said Wednesday it is closing its operations in Lebanon and laying off all employees following a dispute with authorities in the crisis-hit country.

The announcement by the Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group came two days after it said it will take legal action against Lebanese authorities over claims of investment losses of $1.7 billion.