Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri congratulated on Tuesday the Lebanese on the occasion of Liberation Day on Wednesday, especially the families of martyrs who sacrificed their lives in defending Lebanon against Israeli aggression.

He said in a statement: “The anniversary of the liberation of the South comes at a time when Lebanon and the region are passing through unprecedented circumstances that require, more than ever, the Lebanese to take a stand and derive the meanings of nationalism.”

The United States delivered on Tuesday equipment to the Lebanese army at the Hamat Airfield via C-130 aircraft, the first time an aircraft of this size and type has landed at Hamat Airfield.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly and senior Lebanese army and U.S. military officers were on hand to observe the delivery.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun criticized on Tuesday Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s performance so far in forming a government, accusing him of wasting his time and not wanting to form the Cabinet.

He said after the FPM’s weekly meeting: “We have presented all we can to facilitate its formation, but the premier-designate does not want it to be established.”

The Israeli army went on alert on Tuesday along the Lebanese-Israeli border ahead of Liberation Day on Wednesday, reported the National News Agency.

The alert was accompanied with heavy activity by its armored vehicles, including Merkava tanks and Hummers, and flights by Israeli jets over the occupied Shabaa Farms.

This week marks a new decade for Naharnet as it bids farewell to its 10-year-old website and enters a new era with a groundbreaking Content Management Platform completely built in-house.

The initial Naharnet 2.0 website will slowly develop into a new environment that will redefine Naharnet as a digital and social media destination for the Lebanese and Arabs across the world.

President Michel Suleiman congratulated on Tuesday the Lebanese and Resistance on the occasion of Liberation Day, saying that the liberation of the South demonstrated that Lebanon has the popular capabilities to liberate its land and defeat the enemy.

He stressed: “The Israeli defeat has made it think twice before executing any attack on Lebanon.”

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed on Tuesday the importance of the commitment to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 by all the involved parties.

After meeting with Hizbullah official Ammar Moussawi, Williams said: “Because of the situation in the region and in the south, it is very important for all parties to commit to resolution 1701.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Tuesday that the situation in Lebanon is increasingly becoming linked with the developments in the region.

“The situation in Arab countries that is witnessing revolutions lately is very promising because the peoples are aspiring for freedom and democracy,” Geagea told a delegation from American University of Technology visiting him in Maarab.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stated on Tuesday that the people are longing to “tear down the walls” that politics have erected between them.

He said before a consular delegation: “Lebanon is ill and need of treatment.”

A U.S. Army Brigadier General has asked for clarifications from the Lebanese army leadership on the incident in the border town of Maroun al-Ras on Nakba Day, a U.S. embassy statement said.

John W. Charlton, the Deputy Director for Middle East Political-Military Affairs in the Policy and Plans Directorate of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, visited Lebanon on May 19-20 to hold discussions with the Lebanese army leadership on bilateral military programs, it said.