Hadil Al-Shalji

In a meeting with the U.N.

Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he had expressed his, quote, willingness to negotiate, but had not received a response from Israel.

An official in the region, not authorized to speak publicly and speaking on condition of anonymity, told NPR that Israel sees positive signs from the Lebanese government to crack down on the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, but that the war will continue.

Aoun has asked the international community for help in bolstering the Lebanese army to help it disarm the militant group.

After the meeting, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam criticized Hezbollah for launching rockets into Israel and said, quote, Lebanon did not choose this war.

Hadil Al-Shalji, NPR News, Beirut.

At the Sports City Football Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut, nearly 800 people are now crammed into white tents pitched by volunteers.

People haven't had access to clean bathrooms and say they haven't showered for days.

Samer Safah is the general manager of Mechzumi Foundation, a non-profit trying to help equip the stadium to make it more livable.

He says resources are very limited.

Safah says organizations like his are feeling the impact of President Trump's cuts to international humanitarian aid, making it difficult to provide essential services to those in need in Lebanon.

Hadil Al-Shalji, NPR News, Beirut.

The explosion happened in a mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood of Homs.

The area is known to be predominantly made up of members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Islam.

Many hardline Islamists consider Alawites apostates.

An offshoot of ISIS called Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Syrian news agency Sana'a said explosive devices were planted in the mosque.

The same group was accused of carrying out a suicide attack last summer inside a church in Syria, killing 25 people.

The country has seen a rise in sectarian violence since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this attack represented a, quote, desperate attempt to undermine the country's security.