Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc affirmed Tuesday that dialogue will continue with Hizbullah “on the basis of the state's sovereignty and full authority,” reiterating its call for the rival party to withdraw its fighters from war-torn Syria.

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting at the Center House under the chairmanship of former Premier Saad Hariri, the bloc endorsed the “firm” stances voiced by the ex-PM during his BIEL speech on Saturday.

Japan has granted Lebanon $18 million to help the country cater to the needs of the Syrian refugees, Tokyo's embassy in Beirut announced on Tuesday.

“In light of its concern regarding the protracting nature of the Syrian crisis and the continuous pressures on the countries that are hosting refugees, the government of Japan decided on February 3 to offer additional aid worth $18 million to Lebanon,” the embassy said in a statement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hit back on Tuesday at Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who said that people should not differentiate between the extremist al-Nusra Front and Islamic State groups.

He said via Twitter: “As long as there remains a single Syrian fighting the terrorist regime of Bashar Assad, then I support that Syrian.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun announced on Tuesday that he is withdrawing confidence from Defense Minister Samir Moqbel after the extension of the term of Higher Defense Council chief Mohammed Khair.

He said: “We withdraw confidence from the defense minister because he has exceeded his privileges and overlooked violations at the military institution.”

The army continued on Tuesday the implementation of the security plan in the northern Bekaa region, carrying out a series of arrests during various raids.

It announced in a statement the arrest of nine Syrians for illegally entering Lebanon.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Tuesday singer-turned Salafist Fadel Shaker with sectarian incitement through Facebook, reported the National News Agency.

It added that he was also charged with defaming the army and “tarnishing the ties of Lebanon with another country.”

The entrance of a daycare building in Hadath in Beirut's southern suburbs collapsed on Tuesday due to digging work in a construction site adjoining it, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Civil defense teams evacuated the horrified children and employees from the three-storey building, which is located near the Philippines embassy.

An Israeli military unit on Tuesday crossed the technical fence off al-Wazzani in southern Lebanon and inspected the eastern bank of the river, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said the troops used sniffer dogs and Merkava tanks monitored them closely.

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin praised dialogue among the Lebanese parties, considering it a necessity to combat the challenges and risks that the country is passing through.

“Foreign countries support the dialogue, in particular because it is touching on local and regional issues, in the first place the battle against terrorism and extremism,” Zasypkin said in an interview with An Nahar newspaper on Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri expected the dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal to salvage Lebanon in the absence of a head of state despite his concern that the presidential deadlock needs a solution from abroad.

“The dialogue salvages (the country) from vacuum amid the lack of signs that it would end soon,” Berri's visitors quoted him as saying.