Hizbullah targeted an Israeli patrol in the occupied Shebaa Farms with an explosive device on Monday, prompting Israel to shell areas in southern Lebanon.

The party claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb said on Monday that the government should either assume its responsibilities or step down, and highlighted the latest developments that “complicated the election of a president even further.”

“The government must shoulder its responsibilities otherwise it should resign,” said Harb after meeting PM Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geaega voiced calls on all political groups to practice calm and premeditation at this critical stage because “our major goal is to preserve our country,” he said on Monday.

“All political factions should practice calm and forethought at this difficult stage in the history of the region, because in the end our first and foremost duty is to preserve Lebanon regardless of anything else,” said Geagea via twitter.

The security measures around the Saudi embassy were already there but were only intensified following the recent developments that accompanied the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“The security measures around the embassy were taken a long time ago, but the latest developments following the execution of Sheikh Nimr made us up these measures,” a security source told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Political efforts in Lebanon are said to focus on reactivating the government's work and restoring the parliamentary sessions to counter the repercussions of the regional conflict that arose lately between Saudi Arabia and Iran following the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“At the current stage, the attention will focus on facing the repercussions of the regional crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of al-Nimr's execution,” a source following up closely on the developments in Lebanon told the daily.

The thorny presidential file and the stalled initiative settlement to nominate Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh as head of state, could become more complicated following the execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, As Safir daily reported on Monday.

“The regional conflicts following the execution of Sheikh al-Nimr could reflect on the file of electing a president,” prominent sources of March 8 told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Former minister and prominent politician Fouad Butros passed away on Sunday at the age of 95, state-run National News Agency reported.

Butros served as a minister under late presidents Fouad Chehab, Charles Helou and Elias Sarkis. He was most notably known for his role as foreign minister during Sarkis' tenure.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri was quick to hit back at anti-Saudi remarks by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, accusing the party of “acting as if it is in charge of all Shiites in the world.”

Hariri's remarks followed Nasrallah's condemnation of the kingdom's execution of top Shiite dissident Nimr al-Nimr. Riyadh's move prompted Hizbullah's leader to launch one of his fiercest verbal attacks to date against Saudi Arabia.

A small protest was held Sunday outside the Saudi embassy in Beirut to condemn the kingdom's execution of senior Shiite dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, amid strict security measures.

Al-Jadeed television said around 20 people took part in the sit-in following invitations on social networking websites.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday launched one of his fiercest verbal attacks to date against Saudi Arabia over its execution of top Shiite dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, as he warned against turning the issue into a Sunni-Shiite conflict.

“The land of the two holy mosques and the Prophet and his family has been wrongfully called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech commemorating both al-Nimr and late Hizbullah official Sheikh Mohammed Khatoun.