Israeli soldiers fired tear gas to disperse scores of Lebanese protesters who pelted the Israeli forces with stones along the border with Lebanon Friday, leaving some Lebanese demonstrators and troops suffering breathing problems.

The tension on the edge of the Lebanese border village of Kfarshouba began earlier this week over the Israeli military digging in the area that Lebanon claims.

The Democratic Gathering bloc of the Progressive Socialist Party has officially nominated ex-minister Jihad Azour for the presidency, noting that “ex-MP Walid Jumblat was the first to propose his nomination as part of a package of names that he discussed with the various political forces.”

Jumblat’s aim was to reach “consensus and end the approach of confrontation,” the bloc said in a statement issued after a meeting in Clemenceau attended by Jumblat and his son MP Taymour Jumblat.

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro has chaired a regular Tripartite meeting with senior officers of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli army at a U.N. position in Ras al-Naqoura.

“During the last couple of months, there have been a number of concerning developments along the Blue Line” he said. “Despite these events, active engagement has contributed to the prevention of potential escalation and helped maintain stability.”

International Monetary Fund official Jihad Azour, who has been nominated for the long-vacant Lebanese presidency, has "temporarily relinquished" his responsibilities at the lender, an official at the body said.

"In order to avoid any perception of conflict of interest, the director of the Middle East and Central Asia department has temporarily relinquished his responsibilities at the IMF," said the organization's director of strategic communications Julie Kozack, referring to Azour.

Deaths in Lebanese prisons have nearly doubled in 2022 compared to 2018, Amnesty International said in a statement, citing possible factors such as prison officials’ misconduct or negligence, overcrowding, lack of adequate resources and impunity for ill-treatment.

"The sharp increase in custodial deaths must be a wake-up call to the Lebanese government that their prisons need urgent and drastic reform," Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Aya Majzoub said.

The Foreign Ministry said Thursday it is recalling the Lebanese ambassador to France, Rami Adwan, after an investigation was opened into allegations of rape and intentional violence by the envoy.

"Following the circumstances surrounding the case of the Lebanese ambassador to France... it has been decided to recall ambassador Rami Adwan," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

A Swiss delegation will visit Lebanon as part of investigations into Central Bank chief Riad Salameh, a judicial official said Thursday, as European legal pressure mounts on the top banker.

Switzerland was the first European country to open an investigation into Salameh, who is the subject of a series of judicial probes at home and abroad into the fortune he has amassed during some three decades in the job.

Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc said Thursday that its MPs will attend the presidential election session on June 14 and will vote for Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had also affirmed that his bloc will vote for Franjieh.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to name a special envoy for Lebanon “reflects the French leader’s positive response to the urgent demands by the Vatican, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and several Lebanese forces as to changing the nature of the French team tasked with Lebanon’s presidential file,” a prominent Lebanese opposition leader said.

The decision “practically stands for ending the services of presidential adviser Patrick Durel, who is considered to be the godfather of the settlement calling for electing (Suleiman) Franjieh as president in return for naming Nawaf Salam as premier,” the leader added, in remarks to al-Akhbar newspaper.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said he does not rule out that the 12th presidential election session might be “worse” than the previous sessions through blocking the first round’s quorum or boycotting the session altogether.

“The circumstances are appropriate, there is no need for boycott and we’re before two candidates with clear characteristics who enjoy the needed conditions and the support of some blocs. That’s why it is necessary to head to open-ended electoral sessions until the aspired result is reached,” Geagea said in an interview.