South Lebanon witnessed continued Israeli escalation, as the Israeli army burned houses in the town of Zawtar Sharqiya, shelled Haddatha and Wadi Salouqi with artillery, and swept with machine-gun fire toward Khiam and Kfarshouba, while information spoke of a tank incursion and a drone flying over a hospital during a tense night. Israeli warplanes also flew over Beirut and Mount Lebanon and at low altitude over Baalbek up to the northern Bekaa. The Israeli army said it destroyed more than 540 military structures and found more than 150 pieces of weapons in south Lebanon, and said it expects the Lebanese army to take firmer measures to prevent the presence of Hezbollah combat means and structures, while an Israeli report addressed accusations that the Lebanese army was engaged in 'coordination and delay' in dismantling Hezbollah structures.
Politically, military negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, under US sponsorship, resume Tuesday in the US city of Tampa, with the Lebanese delegation carrying six demands including stopping bulldozing, demolition and raids, committing to a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, returning prisoners, and stopping the targeting of civilians and farmers. Israel demands the establishment of a direct operations room with the Lebanese army to verify that experimental areas are free of Hezbollah weapons, which Lebanon reserves, while the sticking point centers on the sequencing of steps. President Walid Jumblatt warned against Lebanon sliding into a new war, said Israel wants the south without residents in coordination with the United States, and directed a message to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem that he has no right to entangle Lebanon in a new confrontation, calling for internal dialogue and with Iran. In parallel, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy arrived in the town of Zawtar Gharbiya in south Lebanon in the first such visit by an Arab League secretary-general to the south, and met Bassil, while President Joseph Aoun discussed with Saudi Ambassador Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Dosari strengthening relations, affirmed Lebanon's solidarity with the Kingdom, and condemned attacks on Saudi vital facilities and airports.
Economically, official estimates indicate that accumulated material and economic losses in Lebanon from Israeli attacks exceeded $27 billion, after more than 132,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged, more than one million people were displaced, and more than 22.5% of agricultural land was affected, with expectations of a significant contraction in GDP and rising inflation and unemployment. An economic report warned that rising tensions in the Gulf and the region threaten dollar flows to Lebanon, especially remittances and tourism revenues, at a time when the import bill is about $20 to 21 billion annually against basic inflows estimated at about $17.5 billion, and called for preventive measures including a selective import policy and monitoring invoices and smuggling.
Domestically, the general session in parliament began to elect two secretaries, three commissioners and parliamentary committee members, MP Ibrahim Kanaan was re-elected chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, and MP George Adwan proposed a law to shorten parliament's term and hold early elections. Media law amendments entered the legislative track under the slogan 'Freedom is responsibility', and controversy continued over the Constitutional Council decision, with MP Ehab Matar considering it an encroachment on parliament's powers, and Atallah warning that questioning the Council's decisions threatens the collapse of the judiciary. In other files, MP Fadi Karam said the tunnel report in the Fanar area did not convince him and called for full transparency, a new evacuation decision was issued in the Zahirieh area of Tripoli, smuggling continued on the Lebanon-Syria border, and reports said Lebanese were among the missing passengers on a boat off the coast of Greece. In the south, Hezbollah's distribution of individual weapons to its supporters in south Lebanon and the Jezzine district raised concerns, amid information about moving elements from the south to the southern suburbs and Beirut.