Former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale has called for the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701 and for turning the tables on Iran and its proxies in the region when the war on Gaza ends.

Since the war in Gaza began, there have been near-daily clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along the Lebanon-Israel border, with fears of an escalation to a full-scale war.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will arrive Saturday in Beirut, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Friday.

The daily said that Meloni will meet her Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and will seek to de-escalate tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border.

The European Union has decided to allocate 205.5 million Euros to address several priority areas to support the country’s stability and recovery.

"In these times of uncertainty and instability in the region, the European Union reaffirms its support to the people of Lebanon and has decided to allocate 205.5 million Euros to address several priority areas to support the country’s stability and recovery," the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon said Friday in a statement.

In a falafel joint in south Lebanon, Hussein Murtada prepared flat-bread snacks for his few remaining customers as an Israeli surveillance drone buzzed above the border village of Kfar Kila.

"We work under the bombs. A few days ago, a shell fell 200 meters from here. Shrapnel hit the shopfront and the wall," said Murtada, 60, pointing to the damage.

Hezbollah targeted Friday groups of soldiers and officers near the Shumira barracks and the Even Menachem settlement and an Israeli infantry force in Metulla while Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on al-Labbouneh.

The Israeli artillery also shelled Rab Tlatine, Jabal Blat, al-Jebbayn, Tayr Harfa, al-Naqoura, Houla, Mays al-Jabal, and Aita al-Shaab.

Caretaker Defense Minister Maurice Slim was meeting Thursday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in talks aimed at healing the rift between the two officials, al-Jadeed TV said.

The impacts of the Israel-Hamas war are set to push crisis-hit Lebanon's economy back into recession, the World Bank said Thursday, blaming mainly a "shock to tourism spending".

Lebanon's southern border has seen regular exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, since the Gaza conflict erupted on October 7.

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea has met with a number of Lebanese leaders on the occasion of the end of her diplomatic service in Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is ready for consensus on a new president through bilateral talks.

Geagea said Thursday in a statement, in response to remarks by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri about the urgent need to elect a president, that consensus can be reached through "calm bilateral consultations" and not through a "theatrical" dialogue table.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has warned against a further delay in electing a president.

"A president must be elected within the next few weeks," Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.