South Lebanon witnessed fresh Israeli escalation, with airstrikes and artillery shelling targeting several towns, the Khardali-Litani road toward Kafr Rumman, and Wadi al-Sulouqi toward the town of Shaqra, alongside very low-altitude flights and mock raids, as the cumulative toll of the aggression rose to 8,956 martyrs and 30,660 wounded. Meanwhile, a state of anticipation prevails after the Lebanese-Israeli military meeting under US auspices was postponed until after the Knesset elections and the US midterm elections, with US assurances to President Joseph Aoun that Netanyahu would not be given a green light to expand the security zone in exchange for not providing him with pretexts. Aoun said Lebanon chose negotiation with Israel because continuing the war would lead nowhere, aiming to end the state of hostility, secure Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, return the displaced, release prisoners and reconstruct, describing the agreement as 'not ideal' but saying it had limited the expansion of Israeli attacks.
Diplomatically, a Qatari delegation headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will arrive in Beirut on Friday to meet President Joseph Aoun, Nabih Berri, Nawaf Salam and the army commander, with Doha affirming its support for Lebanon and its institutions and its coordination with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Washington to curb Israeli attacks and support negotiations, and its readiness to contribute to a security or peace agreement with Israel and establish a humanitarian bridge after any withdrawal. The EU Council approved the creation of the 'EU Support Mission in Lebanon' with an initial three-year mandate as UNIFIL operations approach their end later this year, to strengthen the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces in monitoring, training and anti-smuggling, without replacing the UN force or taking on peacekeeping tasks, while Kaja Kallas warned of the risks of UNIFIL ending and Joseph Aoun called for extending its mandate. In Moscow, Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji renewed reliance on a positive and balanced Russian role and condemned repeated Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and Jordan, stressing the demand for a state where only legitimate military forces bear arms. President Aoun had also called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and other civilian facilities, renewing his condemnation and Lebanon's solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Domestically, the Constitutional Council accepted the Free Patriotic Movement's challenge to the general amnesty law in form and rejected it in substance, opening the way for release procedures, with preliminary estimates of more than 1,000 prisoners released in the first phase within two weeks, and Public Prosecutor Ahmed Rami Hajj assigning prosecutors to expedite procedures; after the decision, hundreds of prisoners ended their open 30-day hunger and thirst strike. On security, Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar expanded the investigation into the explosives seized at the Dah al-Baydar checkpoint, to be carried out by Army Intelligence and the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces, while the government rejected Hezbollah's attempts to recover the shipment, amid talk of a new political phase based on restricting weapons to the state. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also discussed with Army Commander General Rudolf Haykal the security situation, army deployment and extending state authority, and followed the explosives file in Qasr - Hermel, media freedom and the Beirut and Tripoli waste crises, while army units arrested 136 Syrians and seized about 22 kg of hashish and 22,000 Captagon pills and destroyed 14 tents planted with marijuana in Baalbek and Akkar.
Economically and socially, Hezbollah announced the 'Waad wa Iltizam' (Promise and Commitment) program to support war-affected people, with $14,000 per family in Beirut and its southern suburb and $12,000 in other regions, including $8,000 for furniture and a rent allowance of between $4,000 and $6,000, to be distributed in four phases over a year, according to Executive Council head Ali Daamoush. MP Fouad Makhzoumi said the announcement raises questions about the sources of funds and how they are brought in, transferred and distributed outside official frameworks, demanding immediate action by the government, Banque du Liban, the Special Investigation Commission, the judiciary and security agencies. In contrast, Al Habtoor Group announced the closure of its operations in Lebanon on 28 January 2026, citing instability, campaigns, the legal dispute with the state and the absence of institutional solutions, after Khalaf Al Habtoor's September 2025 visit to Damascus and Beirut, where he met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and promised to include Lebanon on his investment map and reopen the Metropolita hotel. Expert Tawfiq Shambour also raised the issue of the deposit recovery account, noting that the accounts at Banque du Liban belong to banks and not depositors, and that the law did not specify the recovery currency. On living conditions, the Public Administration Employees Association continued its moves, with its head Raed Hamada affirming the closure of every Friday until a fair and unified salary scale is approved, while agricultural grants worth $20 million were launched, Afram and Attieh discussed electricity sector reform, and Joya topped the Lebanese football league after beating Hikma 3-0.