Fugitive Islamist cleric Ahmed al-Asir on Wednesday warned the supporters of al-Mustaqbal movement in Lebanon of a possible “confrontation” with the militants of the Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front, in an apparent response to remarks by former premier Saad Hariri.

“Hariri has implicated his movement's leadership and members in a war against the jihadists, at a time (Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid) Jumblat is seeking to preserve his sect by saying that al-Nusra Front is not terrorist,” Asir said on his official Twitter account.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Wednesday that Hizbullah might have more self-confidence, days after the party's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah pledged to defeat jihadists and expressed readiness for a new confrontation with the Jewish state.

“It’s possible that Hizbullah has accumulated more self-confidence than we thought,” Yaalon told Haaretz daily in an interview.

The joint parliamentary committees agreed on Wednesday to unify the new wage scale for public and private school teachers.

The head of the parliamentary finance committee, Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan, briefed reporters after the session on the decision.

The Lebanese army reportedly repelled an overnight infiltration by gunmen who tried to progress into the northeastern border town of Wadi Rafeq.

The area lies between the border region of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek.

U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to continue his country's humanitarian assistance to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to help those countries bear the burden imposed by the large influx of Syrian refugees.

The three countries “are obviously bearing an extraordinary burden from the displaced persons not just recently over the last few months, but for several years now as a consequence of the civil war in Syria,” Obama said at the end of a meeting for military leaders from more than 20 partner nations in the coalition to degrade and destroy Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Washington.

Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayyad has denied that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri have discussed the names of presidential candidates.

Ghayyad told al-Mustaqbal daily that al-Rahi and Hariri agreed during their meeting in Rome Monday on the need to intensify efforts to elect a new president.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed belief on Wednesday that the latest defections of Lebanese soldiers would not affect the military institution, stressing a drop in investments during war.

Sneaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Investment Forum 2014 in Geneva, Berri said that the announcement of several soldiers that they were joining the ranks of Syria-based jihadists were limited cases that did not affect the army or soldiers.

The March 14 alliance discussed the latest political developments in Lebanon, the ongoing presidential vacuum and parliamentary polls.

The meeting that was held at the Center House and chaired by head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc Fouad Saniora tackled the recent meeting between ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Rome.

Prosecutors could have a difficult time proving the desertion case against a Lebanese-born U.S. Marine who vanished from his unit in Iraq a decade ago, according to a military report.

The government has a circumstantial case and could have a hard time finding witnesses to testify against 34-year-old Cpl. Wassef Hassoun because the case is so old and many witnesses were Iraqis, the officer who presided over the military equivalent of a grand jury noted in the report.

The abductee Toufic Wehbi was freed on Tuesday evening in the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal after a hefty ransom was paid to his kidnappers, media reports said.

"A $50,000 ransom was paid for the release of Toufic Wehbi," LBCI television said.