Hezbollah is no longer militarily present in the area south of the Litani River and monopolizing arms north of the Litani hinges on approving a national security strategy, sources close to Hezbollah told Al-Arabiya on Monday.

Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal will meanwhile announce in early January the completion of the first phase of the arms monopolization plan, which is related to the South Litani region, sources told Al-Arabiya.

President Joseph Aoun on Monday told Italy’s visiting defense minister that the Lebanese Army is “the backbone of stability, not only in Lebanon but rather in the entire region.”

He explained that the region “automatically gets affected by the security situation in Lebanon.”

An Israeli strike targeted Monday a car in the Sidon district near the southern villages of Erkay, Maamariyyeh and Qonaytra, killing three people.

The state-run National News Agency said the strike on a vehicle was carried out by an Israeli drone along a road around 10 kilometers from the coastal city of Sidon and "killed three people who were inside".

Depositors gathered Monday on the presidential palace road, ahead of a ministerial session in Baabda that will discuss a long-awaited banking draft bill, which distributes losses from the 2019 economic crisis.

The law stipulates that each of the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors will share the losses accrued as a result of the financial crisis.

Netanyahu will show U.S. President Donald Trump reports about Hezbollah's efforts to rebuild its militarily capabilities in a bid to obtain a green light to launch a military operation in Lebanon, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday.

The daily claimed that, based on Israeli media reports, Israel intends to divide south Lebanon to several areas where there would be a military presence in one area, alongside an economic buffer zone.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon has issued a statement expressing its "fundamental reservations and strong objection to the draft law presented to Cabinet concerning financial regulation and the handling of deposits, due to its provisions and procedures."

ABL said the draft law’s provisions “constitute an unjustified and unacceptable infringement on the rights of banks and depositors, and lack sound legal and financial standards and established precedents for addressing banking crises in other countries."

Pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper said Monday that Hezbollah will not hand over a single bullet north of the Litani River.

The daily said that according to sources the group intends to notify relevant parties of this decision.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel stipulates the disarmament of all armed groups "across Lebanon, not just south of the Litani."

Geagea told Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem on Sunday that the text says the disarmament should "start" south of the Litani river to later cover the entire Lebanese territory.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has called for renewed military action against Hamas and Hezbollah if they fail to disarm and accused the Palestinian Islamist group of consolidating its power in Gaza.

The Republican politician, on a visit to Israel, is a staunch ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israeli strikes in south Lebanon have killed one person and wounded another, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah members.

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure or operatives, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities that erupted over the Gaza war.