Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki, a diplomat who represented Quito in the United States, has entered the race to lead the U.N., the head of the General Assembly said in a letter Tuesday.

The World Bank has projected that Lebanon's economy would contract by 6.4 percent this year, as the latest Israel-Hezbollah war derailed the country's efforts at recovery.

Hezbollah on Friday hit back at the U.S. administration over its announcement that the group is under the control of Iran’s Quds Force, the expeditionary arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Amid conflicting reports about the situation in the Ali al-Taher area, which continues to come under Israeli airstrikes, a prominent Hezbollah source confirmed that the group "has no intention of surrendering the Ali al-Taher hill to the Lebanese Army, the enemy, or any other party.”

President Joseph Aoun is leading an effort, in cooperation with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, to pursue a military cooperation agreement between Lebanon and the European Union with the aim of bringing in a European military force to replace UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of this year, al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

“Aoun appears to be operating on the premise that such an agreement requires neither a Cabinet decision nor a law passed by Parliament ... and he is relying on strong support from the United States, which still prefers that European participation be limited to specific countries, with a particular focus on Italy,” the daily said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Defense Minister Michel Menassa visited Friday the Lebanese Army's South Litani headquarters in the southern city of Tyre.

Salam urged the army to maintain its unity, assuring the soldiers that his government is mobilizing all available Arab and international support to enhance human capabilities, modernize equipment, and improve living conditions for military personnel.

The United States announced new sanctions Thursday against an alleged Hezbollah financing network, while highlighting the Lebanese armed group's close ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Hezbollah's legal designation as a terrorist organization has been amended to note that it operates in "service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," particularly the elite Quds Force, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump “has said that he would be willing to talk to Hezbollah if it would lead to an end of conflict, or peace,” Ed Gabriel, the head of the American Task Force on Lebanon, said.

Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri has emphasized the importance of UNIFIL forces' presence in southern Lebanon and their assigned role, both in “maintaining security in the south and in supporting the Lebanese Army's deployment across all Lebanese territory up to the international border, as stipulated in Resolution 1701.”

If Lebanon and Israel fail to agree on a new pilot zone in south Lebanon, Washington will designate the aforementioned zone, U.S. General Joseph Clearfield told Lebanese officials during his latest visit to Beirut, according to a senior Lebanese official.