JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said on Monday it had killed Islamic Jihad's commander of the Beqaa region in Lebanon, identifying him as Wael Mahmoud Abd al-Halim.

A man walks next to buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes the previous day in the southern village of Maarakeh, Lebanon, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (File photo: AP)

The military said he was killed in an overnight airstrike, adding that al-Halim led the integration of Islamic Jihad militants into combat operations alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed on Monday to do the "impossible" to stop the Israeli war in Lebanon, saying he would do "whatever is less costly" to spare the country and its people from further conflict.

Aoun said the framework set by Lebanon for the negotiations to end the cross-border hostilities includes an Israeli withdrawal, a ceasefire, the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border, the return of displaced residents, and economic and financial assistance to Lebanon.

"Anything discussed outside this framework is incorrect," he said.