A statement issued Tuesday by President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said “Lebanon has the right to use all means” to secure Israel's full withdrawal from south Lebanon, after Israeli forces withdrew from southern border towns but retained five strategic hills near the frontier.

An emotional Wafiq Safa appeared Monday evening on pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen, saying with tears in his eyes "we are human and we are attached to our leaders," as he described slain Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as a humble, kind and loving person.

Head of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit Safa, like many other Hezbollah leaders, was targeted in October in Israeli airstrikes on buildings in Beirut. The strikes killed 22 people and wounded 117 others, but Safa appeared unscathed Monday, and claimed that his assassination attempt was more American than Israeli. "The U.S. has asked Israel to kill me," he said.

Hezbollah on Monday condemned the vandalization of a statue honoring President Joseph Aoun in the Jarmak-Aishiyeh area in the Jezzine region, calling it a “suspicious attack” and “seditious act.”

The Israeli army will stay in five points inside Lebanon, reportedly strategic hills near the border, after its withdrawal from southern towns in line with the February 18 deadline, an Israeli political official told the Israel Hayom daily.

An Israeli official meanwhile told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity that Israel is planning on withdrawing from Lebanon on Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the latest crisis over Iranian flights should be addressed “responsibly, wisely and away from the media and furor.”

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has noted that “the previous equation in Lebanon has changed due to the political and military circumstances,” adding that “it has been agreed on the need to implement U.N. resolutions.”

President Joseph Aoun stressed Monday that “the army is responsible for protecting the border and it enjoys readiness.”

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a televised speech Sunday that Israel "must withdraw from all of the Lebanese territory that it has occupied" on Feb. 18.

Senior Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa has denounced Friday's attack on UNIFIL near Beirut's airport during an angry protest by Hezbollah supporters.

Safa said "what happened with UNIFIL... is unacceptable."

The army on Saturday fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of Hezbollah supporters that again blocked the road to the airport after the group officially called for a "popular sit-in" to denounce Lebanon's banning of two Iranian planes from landing in Beirut.

Video footage shows tear gas canisters falling on peaceful protesters during a speech by Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qamati, but army sources told TV networks that the tear gas was fired after other protesters "blocked the airport road and attacked army vehicles."