Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday called for authorizing the Lebanese army to confront the terrorist Islamic State group while stressing that no one should “dictate” decisions or drag the army into an uncalculated battle.

The Lebanese army is gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of Islamic State militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists.

The campaign might involve cooperation with Hizbullah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border — although Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

Five people were arrested Tuesday at a Syrian refugee encampment in the eastern border area of Masharii al-Qaa, state-run National News Agency reported.

Speaker Nabih Berri assured on Tuesday that relations with the Gulf emirate of Kuwait are “not broken as some believe,” and stressed that “things have been addressed,” the State-run National News Agency reported.

President Michel Aoun chaired a meeting of the Higher Defense Council on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace in Baabda to discuss the security situation in the country, as the army braces for a battle against jihadists, the State-run National News Agency reported.

The meeting was attended in the presence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the member Ministers and leaders of the military and security apparatuses, said NNA.

The United States has reportedly warned “of depriving Lebanon of military assistance” shall the Lebanese army coordinate efforts with Hizbullah and the Syrian regime during its expected battle against the Islamic State group on the country's eastern border, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

The United States wants UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon to take on an expanded mission and investigate alleged violations by Hizbullah in the volatile area, Ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday. 

Seven rockets fired by the jihadist Islamic State group on Monday landed in and around the eastern border town of al-Qaa, causing no casualties, media reports said.

A man carrying two hand grenades was arrested Monday outside a mosque in the northern city of Tripoli, state-run National News Agency reported.

MP Mohammed Raad, the head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc, vowed Monday that Hizbullah will stand by the Lebanese army in its expected battle against the jihadist Islamic State group.