Lebanon witnessed rapid developments on multiple fronts today, most notably a judicial move toward Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine in the cancer drug file that entered the country with exceptional licenses, amid information about counterfeit drugs originating from India and Iran. The Public Prosecutor of Cassation, Judge Ahmad Rami Al-Hajj, is moving to issue a judicial delegation to the minister after his verbal request about three weeks ago for a list of drug names imported between 2020 and 2026 went unanswered, prompting him to take the judicial path. Judicial sources confirm that Al-Hajj is pursuing the file and will request the formation of a neutral medical unit to analyze drugs of questionable efficacy. In the political context, Lebanon called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities, while Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri stressed that Lebanon preserved UNIFIL with blood. President Joseph Aoun met with the acting UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jean Arnault, to discuss current developments and the situation in the south, and was briefed on the results of his visits to several countries including Iran, with the discussion also covering the region and Gulf states in light of attacks on Saudi Arabia. A joint BBC and NPR investigation revealed that former Syrian General Bassam Al-Hassan, wanted for crimes against humanity, resides in Lebanon and receives funding and protection under an arrangement involving American and Lebanese authorities, in exchange for information about missing American journalist Austin Tice and intelligence files, while Damascus demands his return for trial and Washington insists on his staying in Lebanon.
On the security front, Israeli artillery shelling targeted the towns of Mansouri and Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon, and Israeli warplanes carried out a raid around 5 a.m. on the outskirts of the town of Kafr Tibnit in the Nabatieh district, while Israeli artillery shelled at night Wadi al-Salouqi and the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kafr Tibnit, and Mayfadoun. An Israeli drone flew at low altitude over the Haret Saida area. In the Bekaa, Lebanese Army intelligence seized hoses extending inside an earth barrier on the border in the Qaa area, previously used for diesel smuggling and converted to pump liquid milk from Syria toward Lebanon, at a rate of about 4 tons per day, without announcing the arrest of those involved. A limited clash occurred between the Lebanese Army and smugglers in the outskirts of the town of Arsal while foiling an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of drugs to Syria, resulting in the seizure of the shipment and the arrest of all those involved, after the Army Command announced that an armed clash took place on October 7 without injuries, and an Army unit seized 5 pickup trucks loaded with about 5 tons of copper and tin and a large quantity of tobacco. In the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya in southern Lebanon, a report by the Israeli Alma Center addressed competition over reconstruction, monitoring the arrival of the Islamic Health Authority and the 'Wataawano' association affiliated with Hezbollah on July 27 and 29 immediately after the Lebanese Army entered, providing medical and relief services and distributing food to about 150 families, in contrast to the Cabinet's approval on July 9, 2026, of a mechanism to buy ready-made homes through the South Council and the High Relief Commission. In the United States, the possibility of 'annexing southern Lebanon' sparked debate in a US Senate election debate in Michigan.
Politically and economically, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the electricity crisis can no longer tolerate postponement, stressing that decisions, not new diagnoses, are needed, and that Lebanon lacks sufficient production capacity with plants providing about a third of its needs, while the rise in fuel oil prices reduced feeding hours, calling for a dynamic tariff linked to production cost. The Free Patriotic Movement posted a video asking about the options proposed to secure energy, directing a question to Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi about whether the cheapest and fastest is buying power from a plant on a Turkish ship anchored off the Lebanese coast, or buying it from plants in Turkey and transmitting it via cables through Syria. Meanwhile, information from Lebanon Debate said that the collective sit-in by Lebanese Forces ministers is rejected by Saudi Arabia, preventing the sit-in of Energy Minister Joe Saddi from turning into a comprehensive ministerial boycott, while LF ministers support Saddi's demand related to the electricity crisis but continue attending Cabinet sessions, and Industry Minister Joe Issa El Khoury confirmed they do not intend to withdraw from government work, keeping the door open for a later move. A report in Al-Jumhuriya newspaper described Lebanon's situation between the paths of negotiation and escalation as a foggy phase.
In the rest of the scene, Change Movement leader Elie Mahfoud wrote on X criticizing those he described as not wanting Lebanon's neutrality, fighting peace, clinging to their loyalty to Iran, and carrying arms against the Lebanese, considering that what they do is not resistance but a contracting at Lebanon's expense, and affirming that their game is over and their slogans have fallen. Yezbek affirmed from Australia that Lebanon now has an opportunity to exit wars and destruction. Minister Chahada called for strengthening Lebanon's position on the digital technology and innovation map. Head of the Karama Movement, MP Faisal Karami, received Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny at his home in Tripoli. Beirut is preparing to host the 13th edition of the Lebanon International Short Film Festival from October 11 to 13, 2026, at Cinema Colisee in Hamra, with the participation of 63 films from 17 countries and Lebanese university students. Hamas in Lebanon marked the third anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The Information Branch arrested in the town of Msayleh a Lebanese man born in 1992 suspected of stealing AC compressors from a restaurant in Zefta and other areas in the south, and seized three compressors and a quantity of hashish. The Traffic Control Room reported heavy traffic on the Hadath road at the Lebanese University junction and the Kafaat intersection. The Estimates Department at the Meteorological Service expected stable and warm autumn weather in Lebanon until Sunday noon, then unstable weather with falling temperatures and scattered rain sometimes intensifying especially in the south and interior with thunder, lightning, and active winds, while Monday remains partly cloudy with light scattered rain especially in the north before gradual improvement during the day.