Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has told U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the potential for escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border is growing because of "ongoing provocations" and "flagrant violations" by Hezbollah.

"Iran is pushing Hezbollah to act," Gallant said in a meeting with Guterres in New York on Monday night.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday said that his party is ready for dialogue with others over the presidential file, as he slammed political rivals for rejecting French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s latest call for dialogue.

“Had the envoy been American, would you have rejected his letter?” Nasrallah said in a speech marking the sixth anniversary of the ouster of jihadist groups from the eastern border region.

Two Russian citizens who were recently detained in Beirut on suspicion of spying for Israel have been referred to an investigative military judge who issued arrest warrants for them, two judicial officials said Monday.

The two Russians were detained "several weeks ago" in Beirut as they were leaving the country through the capital's Rafik Hariri International Airport, the officials said. The two judicial officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Christian Opposition MPs are reportedly dismayed by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat's remarks about sitting with Hezbollah for electing a president.

French special presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian is set to arrive in Lebanon in September to resume a French initiative to push for a solution to the presidential impasse.

As part of the developments related to the beginning of drilling for gas in Lebanon’s offshore Block 9, U.S. Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein is expected to return to Beirut in early September, media reports said.

“On the surface, his mission will be to oversee the exploration process, but it has been reported that he is carrying a plan for addressing the problem of the Lebanese border with occupied Palestine in a manner that meets some Lebanese demands over the contested points,” al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Monday.

The Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee convened Monday to discuss the Alvarez & Marsal preliminary forensic audit report and question the government and the central bank governor about financial reform laws.

Minister of Finance Youssef al-Khalil and Interim Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri attended the meeting. Minister of Justice Henry Khoury also attended the meeting to give answers about the judicial course of the audits.

The dialogue that French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian has called for will be held “within a few days” despite the “pessimistic atmosphere” that is still surrounding it, informed sources said.

“The dialogue will still take place and it has not been affected by the objections of the Lebanese Forces party and some parties and components of the camp that calls itself sovereign and pro-change opposition,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Monday.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has noted that “the election of a president alone is not the solution.”

“The crisis will be repeated every six years as long as our constitution remains the same,” Bassil said in a speech in Bsharri.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Parliament can legislate, even though Lebanon has been without a president for more than eight months.

After 12 attempts to elect a president failed amid major political disputes, opposition MPs decided to boycott all parliamentary sessions, as they considered them "unconstitutional" amid a presidential void.

Lebanon has been eliminated as Canada, Latvia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Germany all headed to the round of 16 of the Basketball World Cup.

Debutants Latvia beat Lebanon in their opening game and sent heavyweights France crashing to a shock Basketball World Cup first-round exit on Sunday, while Canada underlined their title credentials in a blowout win over Lebanon.