Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib announced on Wednesday that the extension of UNIFIL's peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon will proceed under the same terms as last year, unless ongoing south Lebanon negotiations yield an agreement necessitating changes.

In an interview with MTV, Bou Habib urged the UN Security Council to oversee the negotiations aimed at easing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah on Lebanon’s southern border, without undermining the role of negotiators. He stressed that an agreement is needed to ensure the implementation of Resolution 1701.

He emphasized that Israel must agree to cease its aggression, stating that Lebanon is ready for indirect negotiations and that he met with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein for this purpose.