Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday that he held phone talks on the Iranian and Lebanese files with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny and Defense Minister Michel Menassa on Wednesday made a field visit to southern Lebanon, including the towns of Qaqaaiyet al-Jisr and Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, to assess the extent of damage inflicted by Israel’s attacks on infrastructure, roads and bridges, and to follow up on the implementation steps aimed at repairing them to enable residents to return.

The atmosphere on the second day of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Rome was more positive than on the first, Baabda Palace sources told Al-Jadeed TV.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in a bomb explosion inside a booby-trapped building in Majdalzoun in south Lebanon, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of "violating the ceasefire agreement" and ordered the residents of al-Mansouri to evacuate ahead of strikes, the first such warning in several weeks.

The British Embassy Beirut has announced that applications for the UK Government’s flagship Chevening Scholarships program to study in the UK are now open.

Prospective candidates should submit their applications via chevening.org/apply by 6 October 2026. Lebanese citizens (and Palestinians residing in Lebanon) are eligible to apply under the Lebanon scheme in any subject area.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the greatest help to Israel was provided by Hezbollah after Sheikh Naim Qassem accused authorities of helping Israel.

Qassem had said on Tuesday in a televised address that direct talks between Lebanon and Israel would bring only "humiliation" for Lebanon, accusing Lebanese authorities of having "helped Israel instead of helping Lebanon's sovereignty" by continuing with negotiations that handed Israel "political gains".

For Cecile Roukoz, a lawyer whose brother died in the Beirut port explosion six years ago, accountability remains a priority.

Families of victims of the port blast gathered Tuesday on the sixth anniversary of the catastrophe, demanding answers and accountability in a country long plagued by official impunity.

More than 800,000 people displaced by war in Lebanon have begun returning to their hometowns following a lull in violence amid the Israel-Hezbollah war, the United Nations said.

The announcement late on Tuesday came as Lebanon and Israel began a new round of U.S.-sponsored talks in Rome aimed at ending the fighting, which are scheduled to run until Thursday.

The United States said it remains "fully committed" to support both Lebanon as Israel as they held a fresh round of U.S.-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday.

"The United States remains fully committed to supporting both governments as they carry this process forward in a manner that delivers lasting security for both countries, eliminates security threats to Israel, and restores Lebanese state authority throughout the south," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said on X.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Tuesday posted an X message marking the sixth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion.