Germany has called on Saudi Arabia and Iran not to undermine Lebanon's stability following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called his Saudi counterpart Thursday to highlight the need to safeguard Lebanon's stability.

Dozens of citizens of Gulf Arab countries began leaving Lebanon on Friday after their governments ordered them to leave the Mediterranean country, as President Michel Aoun called for the return of Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri who mysteriously resigned from the Saudi capital last week.

Firebrand Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan warned earlier this month that his government would deal with Lebanon as a hostile state as long as Hizbullah was in the Lebanese government.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned other countries Friday against using Lebanon for "proxy conflicts" following a crisis triggered by Prime Minister Saad Hariri's resignation.

Tillerson also described Hariri, who announced his resignation November 4 from Saudi Arabia, as a "strong partner" of the United States.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday that a new conflict in Lebanon would have "devastating consequences" and said he was engaged in intense contacts with all players to urge de-escalation.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in a shock announcement broadcast from Riyadh on Saturday as a power struggle intensified between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which backs Lebanon's Hizbullah.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused Saudi Arabia of “inciting Israel to strike Lebanon,” adding that the current government should stay in place until Prime Minister Saad Hariri submits a formal resignation.

“Saudi Arabia is inciting the Lebanese against each other and inciting Arab countries to take escalatory measures against Lebanon. It also incited world countries against Lebanon, but what's more dangerous is inciting Israel to strike Lebanon. This is not an analysis but rather based on confirmed information,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech.

Saudi charge d'affaires in Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari told President Michel Aoun on Friday during a meeting in Baabda that “it is possible to dispatch Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to Riyadh to meet with (Prime Minister Saad) Hariri,” media reports said.

Aoun for his part asked Bukhari to relay to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “a demand for the return of PM Saad Hariri to Lebanon to spare the security and stability of the country any repercussions.”

The General Assembly and Security Council elected four judges from an initial pool of six candidates to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

After five rounds of simultaneous voting that ran into the early evening Thursday, the Assembly and the Council – which met independently of each other – re-elected two current judges, Ronny Abraham (France) and Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf (Somalia), while also choosing two new justices, Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade (Brazil) and Nawaf Salam (Lebanon).

Members of the International Support Group for Lebanon met this morning with President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. They discussed the situation in Lebanon following the announcement of the offer of resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

President Michel Aoun on Friday expressed concern over the circumstances surrounding the situation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the wake of his resignation amid reports that he is being held in Saudi Arabia, the National News Agency said.

Aoun reiterated his concern over “the circumstances surrounding the situation of Hariri and the necessity of its unraveling,” Aoun told members of the International Support Group for Lebanon whom he received at the Presidential Palace.

Lebanese will gather in a mass rally on Saturday in a solidarity stand with Prime Minister Saad Hariri who resigned over the weekend amid rumors that he is being held against his will in Saudi Arabia, LBCI reported on Friday.

LBCI said that a sit-in will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday at Martyrs Square in Beirut to “uncover the ambiguity that has dominated the situation of President Saad Hariri since he announced his resignation and demand his return to Lebanon.”