Hizbullah members and army troops on Thursday erected checkpoints in the Bekaa region of Hermel after reports said several booby-trapped cars had entered the area.

“Hizbullah has deployed in Hermel after reports about the presence of explosive-rigged cars in the region and security forces have headed to the area to assess the situation,” MTV reported.

The southern town of Rishknaniyeh in the Tyre district on Thursday held a funeral for a slain Hizbullah military commander nicknamed “Sayyed Nasrallah” in reference to the group's secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“Wissam Sharafeddine, the most prominent Hizbullah field commander in Damascus' countryside, has been killed,” Future TV reported.

Hizbullah is operating a fleet of 200 unmanned aerial vehicles on the border with Syria, American online newspaper World Tribune reported.

“Sources in the country said Hizbullah was operating UAVs throughout Lebanon,” the online news portal added

Caretaker Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi hinted Thursday that he was facing a “mutiny” by Customs agents, revealing that some of them had ignored his instructions to immediately release the al-Jadeed TV journalists whom they detained on Tuesday.

“I contacted them three times and asked them to immediately release the al-Jadeed TV crew but they refused,” Safadi said in an interview with al-Jadeed, noting that he will follow up on the issue because “disciplinary measures must be taken.”

Acting State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud released on Thursday Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Shamseddine pending investigation in the case of attacking the al-Jadeed television crew.

"The Criminal Investigation Department listened to Shamseddine's testimony today and he was allowed to leave pending investigation,” the state-run National News Agency reported.

The northern city of Tripoli witnessed renewed sectarian tension on Thursday after at least three residents of the neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen were injured in a shooting.

The state-run National News Agency said assailants shot the three men in their feet in the area of al-Zahriyeh.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah stressed on Thursday that the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are under the control of the Lebanese state, pointing out that they are keen to safeguard security and stability in the country.

“Any violations that occur are individual and isn't linked to us,” Hamdallah said during a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale stressed on Monday that his country will continue to confront Iran and its allies, including Hizbullah, “terrorist activities.”

“As we proceed with negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program, the United States will not ignore Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region,” Hale said after meeting with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

Security forces inspected the vicinity of the Saudi Embassy in Beirut's posh Qoraitem neighborhood on Thursday after a hoax bomb threat against the mission, the Internal Security Forces general-directorate said.

It said College Protestant Francais, which lies near the mission, received a phone call at around 11:15 am claiming that a bomb was planted near one of the buildings abutting the embassy.

The nephew of Caretaker Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan has been killed along with three other Hizbullah fighters in Syria's Qalamoun region, a source close to the party said on Thursday.

"Ali Rida Fouad Hajj Hassan, aged 22, was killed along with three other Hizbullah fighters in Qalamoun" north of Damascus on Wednesday, the source told Agence France Presse.