Following heavy strikes on the southern and eastern regions of Lebanon over the weekend, Lebanese officials confirmed to the press today that the government held frequent contact with the US, France, and the UN to prevent an Israeli strike on Beirut. Worries about such an attack came after DM Katz commented on the bombing of Metula, saying, “Metula's fate is the same as Beirut's.” The escalation of Israeli strikes occurred in response to a rocket being fired into Israeli territory from Lebanon, a rare occurrence since the implementation of the ceasefire, for which Israel has blamed Hezbollah, though Hezbollah has denied responsibility. A rogue actor within Hezbollah may call for the strike, especially if some officer was displeased with Hezbollah’s lack of action against Israeli occupation of the south, considering Hezbollah’s historically decentralized command structure. However, it is still unclear what caused the strike.

The LAF closed six additional border crossings with Syria today in Hoch Al-Sayyed Ali, Mashrouat Al-Qaa, and Qabech amid the aftermath of border tensions between the two countries.

Lebanese DM Michel Menassa will arrive in Damascus on Wednesday to speak with Syrian DM Marhaf Abu Qasra. They will “discuss ways to manage the situation at the border, strengthen bilateral coordination, and prevent cross-border aggression.”

Hezbollah MP Fayed Ali reiterated Hezbollah’s shifting stance regarding Lebanese national security: “Each stage has its necessities and requirements, and the Lebanese have agreed that the government manage the national stance in the face of the Israeli enemy’s hostile actions and repeated violations. We support the government for the sake of achieving the national objectives of imposing an Israeli withdrawal from our land and protecting our people and national interests. We have declared our commitment to what it has committed itself to regarding Resolution 1701’s executive measures.” He still sees Hezbollah as a key part of providing national security. Still, more and more, we see a party recognizing the LAF and Beirut as the ultimate provider of security and the one that must take up the mantle at the moment rather than giving more emphasis to Hezbollah’s resistance to Israel.

FPM leader Bassil announced that his party had submitted a new electoral law for consideration based on a 2013 proposal where each religious sect would elect its own MPs proportional to the population. The proposal was controversial at the time and will surely be met with resistance now. It also appears to contradict FPM’s recent statements against sectarianism, though Bassil claimed, “Either a sectarian system with actual and not superficial equal power-sharing or a fully secular system for all aspects of everyday life. Abolishing political sectarianism alone is an abolishment of Lebanon. This is the Taif Agreement — implement it in full along with decentralization.”

US special envoy Morgan Ortagus is scheduled to arrive in Tel Aviv to facilitate mediation efforts between Israel and Lebanon. The talks will pertain to three main issues: the five remaining strategic hills occupied by Israel along the Blue Line, outstanding territorial disputes, and the remaining Lebanese prisoners held in Israel. Special envoy Witkoff stated regarding American efforts to mediate between Israel and Lebanon, “I think Lebanon could normalize with Israel, literally normalize, meaning a peace treaty with the two countries. That’s really possible.” He gave a similar statement for Syria: “There are indications are that Jolani is a different person than he once was. And people do change.”

The IDF announced that it will begin military exercises along the border with Lebanon in Western Galilee on Tuesday. The drill will go on for several hours and will include an increased aerial presence in the area.

During a visit to Jerusalem, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas commented on Israel’s strikes on Syria and southern Lebanon: “Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation.” She further claimed that Israel’s destruction of weapons left behind by the Assad regime is “unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel, and that feeds more radicalization that is also against Israel.”

In a presidential primary in Türkiye organized by the CHP, 15 million people voted for jailed Istanbul mayor Imamoglu, making him an official opposition presidential candidate in 2028. The bulwark of his supporters came from outside his party as the opposition further rallied behind him following his detainment. However, he has long been a major figure in Turkish opposition politics as well. Over the past five days of daily protests against the arrest of the mayor, Türkiye has arrested 1,113 of the protestors in a crackdown on dissent supporting the opposition figure.

Two journalists were killed in Gaza today: Al Jazeera’s Hossam Shabat and Palestine Today’s Mohammad Mansour. Israeli strikes killed both, the former while in his car and the latter within the family at home. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated regarding the killing of these journalists, “Every single thing that is happening is a result of Hamas and its choices to drag that region down into a level of suffering that has been excruciating and has caused innumerable deaths,” and further refused to call the killing of journalists a war crime.

The US executed several strikes throughout Yemen last night, with one dead and thirteen injured in the capital of Sana’a. The plans for these strikes were accidentally leaked over the past few days after a journalist for The Atlantic was mistakenly invited to a message chain that included Secretary of Defense Hegseth and NSA Waltz. The plans were not disseminated beforehand, in part because the journalist could not immediately verify that the participant's identities or documents being shared were authentic, but it remains a serious mistake in ensuring confidentiality.