After the fall of Ali al-Taher and strikes on Kfar Remman, attention shifted from the hilltops to the city itself. President Aoun met Prime Minister Salam and then the security chiefs, warning that any security vacuum in the south would serve as a pretext for attacks and linking expanded deployment to the state's negotiating position. The army, which increased patrols to reassure residents, then accused Israel of continued aggression that threatened the framework agreement and hindered its mission, as blasts were reported in Mansouri, a drone strike killed one in Zabdine, and tanks moved east of Khiam.

Retired servicemen blocked roads over the 2027 budget, saying $600 a month did not allow them to live.

The US-Iran confrontation formed the backdrop, with Washington reporting five more tankers destroyed and Tehran claiming missile hits on a US base in Jordan and warships.