Israel threatened to escalate attacks on Syrian government forces unless they withdrew from Sweida, a southern province dominated by the country’s Druse minority.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

A Lebanese A-29 Super Tucano student pilot and a U.S. instructor pilot train in 2017 at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The State Department approved a $100 million sale to Lebanon on July 11, 2025, for delivery of parts, equipment and logistical support for the country's Super Tucano planes. (Zachary Wolf/U.S. Air Force)

While American officials have acknowledged the initiative’s constructive tone, they have emphasized the need for a firm and actionable timeline to address the issue of illegal arms across Lebanese territory.

U.S. Envoy Thomas Barrack welcomes Lebanon's response to proposal calling for Hezbollah disarmament within four months, suggesting potential peace talks with Israel

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun urged the Israeli regime to withdraw entirely from the Arab country. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun says that his country does not seek to normalize relations with the Israeli regime.

Lebanon’s president says his country wants peace but not normalisation with Israel, as health authorities said an Israeli air strike killed one person in the south of the country. As well as causing one death on Friday, the drone attack on a car in Nabatieh district wounded five other people, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.