Judge Fadi Sawwan, the lead judicial investigator into the port blast, has set new dates for the interrogation of caretaker PM Hassan Diab and three ex-ministers, media reports said on Monday.

Sawwan rescheduled the sessions after the four declined to show up on Monday, judicial officials told the Associated Press.

The Presidency on Monday hit back at a statement issued by PM-designate Saad Hariri and accused him of presenting a one-sided cabinet line-up in his latest meeting with President Michel Aoun.

State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat on Monday recused himself from any future role in the investigations into the Beirut port blast.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri snapped back Monday at President Michel Aoun’s adviser, ex-minister Salim Jreissati, and accused Baabda of being the party delaying the formation of the new government.

Caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab will not meet with the prosecutor investigating the Beirut port explosion as requested, persons familiar with the case said Monday, adding the premier has already given the prosecutor all the information he has.

Diab and three former Cabinet ministers were charged last week by Judge Fadi Sawwan with negligence in the massive Aug. 4 blast that killed over 200 people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction in the capital.

Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi described the recent indictment against caretaker PM Hassan Diab over the Beirut port blast as “unfair,” al-Joumhouria daily reported Monday.

The unions in crisis-hit Lebanon threatened to stage nationwide strikes to protest the government's plan to stop subsidies on basic goods, amid warnings the move would affect some goods in the country in light of a decline in imports due to the dollar crisis, Asharq el-Awsat newspaper reported Monday.

Bassam Tleis, head of the land transport unions, said Sunday: “We decided to escalate action and strikes. We will not accept any plan to stop subsidies if it was not backed up by legislation to protect the citizens.”

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Sunday issued a sharp-toned statement warning of “a plan to target the Premiership” and “isolate the first position of the Sunni sect in Lebanon,” days after caretaker PM Hassan Diab was charged in the probe into the port blast.

Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi on Sunday issued a new memo relaxing the country's curfew and anti-coronavirus measures.

Fahmi's memo coincides with the holiday season, in which Lebanon usually witnesses a boost in touristic and shopping activities.

Israeli troops on Sunday fired 10 gunshots between the al-Abbad and the Manara Israeli military posts facing the Lebanese border towns of Mays al-Jabal and Houla, TV networks said.