After reported claims that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned of an Israeli war on Lebanon in the summer, fearing he could be killed, US sources said “Israel will not be the one to fire the first bullet but is ready to fight back in defense,” the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper reported on Monday.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry reportedly revealed that Lebanon “will not participate in the next fresh round of Astana talks that will take place in Kazakhstan’s capital of Nur-Sultan on April 25-26,” the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Monday.

Hizbullah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said on Saturday that Hizbullah will not let the poor pay for the economic crisis, the National News Agency said.

“Hizbullah will not let a solution to the economic and financial crisis be made at the expense of the poor. Those who think of a solution from the pockets of the poor are merely creating a new crisis,” said Qaouq.

Lebanese authorities have reportedly been warned about border smuggling from Lebanon into Syria that reportedly revived lately in light of Syria’s fuel shortage, pan-Arab al-Hayat daily said on Saturday.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Saturday urged Lebanese officials for serious efforts to counter an economic crisis to save Lebanon.

Defense Minister Elias Bou Saad replied to the Finance Minister’s remarks, without naming him, and disagreed with him over possible austerity measures against the military.

Head of Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Friday said the government “must not take from the poor and state employees in its quest to implement reforms and slash the budget deficit,” the National News Agency reported.

The Ambassador of Lebanon in Rome, Mira Daher, held a series of meetings to promote tourism in Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on Friday.

As Lebanon mulls austerity measures to slash its ballooning budget deficit, President Michel Aoun insists the 2019 state budget draft gets discussed in Cabinet during its upcoming meeting next week on Thursday, said al-Joumhouria daily on Friday.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil revealed shocking figures related to salaries of some state employees, a needed revelation after a public outcry provoked by government plans to cut pays as part of strict austerity measures to counter an economic collapse.