The head of the Federation of Syndicates of Banks Employees in Lebanon, George al-Hajj, announced Thursday that the employees will not declare a strike in response to the hostage crisis at Federal Bank’s Hamra branch.

“All that we want is for this incident to end peacefully,” al-Hajj said.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said Thursday, after meeting with President Michel Aoun, that Israel's attack on Gaza has delayed the border demarcation file.

He added that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has only visited Israel the day he left Beirut. "We are following up with him on the matter," Bou Saab affirmed.

A Hezbollah delegation comprised of Coordination and Liaison officer Wafiq Safa and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political aide Hussein al-Khalil held talks Thursday in Clemenceau with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.

The meeting was held in the presence of MP Wael Abu Faour and ex-minister Ghazi Aridi.

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday stressed that Lebanon is “clinging to its rights to its waters and natural resources.”

“It has made major progress in the negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime border, which will continue in order to reach an agreement under the sponsorship of the U.N. and with the mediation of the United States,” Aoun said.

The Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday approved amendments to the law related to the $150 World Bank loan aimed at buying wheat, the National News Agency said.

The approval of two articles was however postponed until Thursday’s session, NNA added.

President Michel Aoun, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, and Maj. General Abbas Ibrahim met Wednesday in Baabda to discuss the Syrian Refugees repatriation.

Also on Wednesday, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa reported that Syria is dissatisfied with a statement by Bou Habib that accused the Syrian regime of not wanting to return the refugees to their homeland.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat will meet with Hezbollah coordination official Wafiq Safa by the end of the week, MTV said Wednesday.

It quoted a source close to the PSP as saying that "Jumblat has read the situation well and has chosen to be with the winning team."

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has lashed out at President Michel Aoun’s presidential term, describing his tenure as “failed,” “spiteful” and “disastrous.”

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday warned Israel against “making a mistake towards the resistance in Lebanon” or over “the issue of oil and gas and the issue of the maritime border.”

Shiite Lebanese marked Tuesday the holy day of Ashoura, one of the most emotional occasions in their religious calendar, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein.

With power split in Lebanon among the country's religious sects, Ashoura presents an opportunity for Lebanon's Shiites to show force.