A senior political source has told MTV that “Hezbollah is in depth only asking for two guarantees to endorse the arms monopoly plan, which are halting the Israeli aggression and the start of Israel's withdrawal.”

The U.S. Department of War has approved a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package for Lebanon with an estimated value of $14.2 million.

“The PDA package will build the capability and capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to dismantle weapons caches and military infrastructure of non-state groups, including Hezbollah,” the Department said in a statement. 

President Joseph Aoun said Thursday, after a meeting with French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, that the Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal are preventing the army from completing its deployment in south Lebanon, urging France and the U.S. to put more pressure on Israel.

Le Drian had told Aoun during the meeting that Lebanon's plan to disarm Hezbollah is a positive development that would lead to increased international support.

A second group of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon on Thursday under a plan the United Nations developed with the Lebanese government following the downfall of Bashar Assad’s rule in December.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that over 300 Syrian individuals returned home with transportation provided from Beirut, crossing through Masnaa border, to drop-off points in Hama, Homs and Idlib governorates in Syria.

A Princeton University graduate student who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2023 has been freed in a prisoners swap deal that might include Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel, local media reports said.

Israel would likely release several Iraqi prisoners held by Israel and Lebanese prisoners including Imad Amhaz, OTV and al-Jadeed said Thursday.

French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Thursday in Beirut where he met with Lebanese leaders as France prepares to organize two conferences in support of the Lebanese armed forces and of recovery and reconstruction.

Le Drian met Thursday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Syria said Thursday that its forces dismantled a cell affiliated with Lebanon's Hezbollah, a key ally of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

"Specialized units in cooperation with the general intelligence service... were able to arrest a terrorist cell belonging to the Hezbollah militia that was active" in the Damascus countryside, an interior ministry statement said, quoting a local commander.

The Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country's south on Thursday killed one person, the latest raid despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"An Israeli enemy drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the Ain Baal-Bazouriyeh road, killing one person," the Ministry said in a statement, referring to an area in south Lebanon's Tyre district.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Wednesday that “the continuation of the resistance is a necessity for everyone” and that “it is Lebanon’s strength,” days after the Lebanese government approved a Lebanese Army plan for disarming Hezbollah and all armed groups in the country.

“We call for a return to priorities, which are ending the aggression, Israel’s withdrawal from the South, the release of the Lebanese captives, and the start of the reconstruction process,” Qassem said in a televised speech marking Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday.

President Joseph Aoun’s contacts and the army’s weapons monopolization plan “necessitated Arab and international positivity toward the proposed settlement, which reached the extent of lauding President Aoun’s wisdom in managing the current period and preserving Lebanese domestic stability,” a media report said.

“Washington in specific has shown keenness on preventing chaos in Lebanon and saw in Aoun’s proposal an excellent way to resolve the conflict between the Israeli enemy and Lebanon, as long as the objective is monopolizing arms and ending wars,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Wednesday.