A UN-backed tribunal will hand down its verdict Tuesday on the 2005 murder of former premier Rafik Hariri, two weeks after the Lebanese capital was rocked by a massive explosion.

Amer Fakhoury, an ex-member of the pro-Israel South Lebanon Army militia who was jailed for several months in Lebanon, passed away on Monday at his residence in the United States following a battle with cancer, Lebanese media reports said.

The release of Lebanese-American citizen Fakhoury in March and his eventual travel to the U.S. in mysterious circumstances had sparked controversy in Lebanon.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Monday that Lebanon’s salvation lies in the establishment of a “civil state.”

“There will be no solution nor salvation for Lebanon unless everyone shows the courage to seek a civil state. Lebanon’s salvation hinges on carrying out this constitutional surgery,” Berri said in a chat with reporters.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday left Beirut for Leidschendam, in the suburbs of The Hague, to attend Tuesday’s session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is scheduled to pronounce its judgment in the case of the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and his companions.

After the session, Hariri will make a statement regarding the judgment, his press office said.

Judicial investigator into the Beirut port blast Judge Fadi Sawwan on Monday interrogated detained Customs chief Badri Daher for 4.5 hours before issuing an arrest warrant against him, the National News Agency said.

The interrogation session was held in the presence of Daher’s lawyers Munif Hamdan and George Khoury.

From his office in Beirut, Shady Rizk had a front-row view of the cataclysmic explosion at the Lebanese capital's port.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday announced a memorandum on “Lebanon and Active Neutrality”, in a press conference held in Diman, following a series of stances calling for neutrality in recent weeks.

Below is the memorandum’s full English-language text as distributed by the patriarchate:

Lebanon is facing a surge in coronavirus cases after a devastating blast at the Beirut port earlier this month killed scores and wounded thousands, prompting medical officials to urge Monday for a two-week lockdown to try to contain the pandemic.

Virus numbers were expected to rise following the Aug. 4, explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. Around 180 people were killed, more than 6,000 wounded and a quarter of a million left with homes unfit to live in. The blast overwhelmed the city's hospitals and also badly damaged two that had a key role in handling virus cases.

Ex-PM Saad Hariri’s speech after the issuance of verdicts in Rafik Hariri’s assassination case on Tuesday is expected to reveal his stance on the latest developments and the issue of the formation of a new government, media reports said.

Hariri, who will travel to The Hague Monday along with a delegation to attend the verdict announcement session, will voice “a very important and critical stance,” Annahar newspaper reported Monday.

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency has confirmed four new COVID-19 deaths in camps in Lebanon, calling for vigilance in observing hygiene measures as infections rise across the country.

"During the past 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded among Palestine refugees" in Lebanon, UNRWA said in a statement.