Vice-President of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan on Thursday called on the leaders of religious communities in Lebanon to form a committee to discuss the adoption of civil marriage in the country.

"An extensive study of civil marriage must be undertaken,” Qabalan stated during a meeting with a delegation of Lebanese student and youth organizations.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Thursday said French President Francois Hollande informed him of his interest in the ongoing debate in Lebanon over the electoral system, but noted that the French leader voiced concern that Lebanon might not “respect the constitutional deadlines.”

Gemayel was speaking during a press conference he held in Paris to wrap up a several-day visit to France during which he met with Hollande and former premier Saad Hariri.

The White House on Thursday warned Syria not to transfer weapons to Hizbullah, as tensions mounted following reported Israeli raids on a military research center and a Lebanon-bound weapons convoy.

"Syria should not further destabilize the region by transferring weaponry to Hizbullah," said Ben Rhodes, a U.S. deputy national security adviser.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Thursday Talal Khalil with collaborating with Israel and revealing information on the residence of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The state-run National News Agency said that Khalil disclosed to the Jewish State information on security bases belonging to the resistance and the residence of Nasrallah.

A 25-year-old Lebanese businessman has been kidnapped in northern Venezuela, his relative in Lebanon said Thursday.

Omar Hussein Fares, who has an electronics shop in the state of Falcon, was kidnapped several days ago, the National News Agency quoted his relative as saying.

U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly visited on Thursday the UNHCR registration center in Beirut during which she underscored President Barack Obama’s recent announcement of nearly $29 million in humanitarian assistance for Lebanon to support the refugees.

During her visit, Connelly “met with UNHCR Country Representative Ninette Kelley and with Syrian families who have sought protection in Lebanon from the continuing violence in Syria,” said a U.S. embassy statement.

Israel was on Thursday tightlipped over Syrian claims it had bombed a military site near Damascus, while stressing that any transfer of advanced weaponry to Hizbullah would cross a red line.

Israeli officials and the military refused to confirm or deny any involvement in the alleged attack and had no comment on separate reports from security sources that its warplanes had struck a weapons convoy along the Syria-Lebanon border.

President Michel Suleiman hoped on Thursday that the promises of the international community to help Lebanon meet the demands of Syrian refugees escaping the fighting in their country would be translated into deeds.

“We received signals that there is a certain support … But previous experiences haven't been very encouraging,” Suleiman told a delegation from the Association of Arab Newspaper Reporters in Lebanon.

Several Lebanese officials condemned on Thursday an Israeli air strike against a Syrian military research center, accusing the Jewish state of exploiting the current situation in the neighboring country to carry out its “flagrant aggression.”

“Israel is exploiting the developments in Syria to carry out its aggressive policies, indifferent to all the humanitarian and international treaties,” President Michel Suleiman said in a statement issued by his press office.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hailed on Thursday ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri for exerting strong efforts to help the different factions agree on an electoral draft-law that guarantees the best representation for all the Lebanese.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Geagea said he was glad that discussions on an electoral draft-law have reached their final stages. “We will continue to seek with al-Mustaqbal movement and the rest of the parties in the parliamentary subcommittee to reach (an agreement) on the law.”