The Israeli army on Thursday said it destroyed the final cross-border tunnel allegedly dug by Hizbullah into the Israeli territory.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday called on Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil to “rein in his party members,” in connection with a war of words over LBP 40 billion earmarked for the Ministry of the Displaced.

“The last thing we want is to create any dispute with the FPM, or else we would not have backed President (Michel) Aoun's election,” Geagea said after a meeting for the Strong Republic parliamentary bloc.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Wednesday that lawmakers have the right to take their time in debating and approving the 2019 state budget although it has missed its constitutional deadline.

“MPs have the right to raise all issues and problems related to the draft state budget and the current draft is not at all binding for them,” Berri told lawmakers during the weekly Ain el-Tineh meeting.

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday hoped the 2019 draft state budget will be approved in Parliament “as quickly as possible.”

“The draft 2019 budget includes measures to strengthen the productive sectors in Lebanon, especially industry and agriculture, with the aim of gradual transformation to a productive economy rather than a services-based one as endorsed by the previous governments,” Aoun said.

“Who's gonna win? Team Nicolas or Team Sami?” An event organized by the Mouna Bustros Foundation promises to “bring Madrid to Beirut” on Saturday, June 1 at the Port of Beirut.

The event will start at 8pm and football fans and enthusiasts will enjoy free entrance and parking and have access to a food court.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Tuesday noted that one state budget is not sufficient to resolve the state's “structural problems.”

“There are structural problems in the state institutions that cannot be resolved in a draft state budget, specifically regarding the role of the public sector,” Khalil said in an interview with the Progressive Socialist Party's al-Anbaa news portal.

Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Tuesday announced that the FPM has reservations over the draft 2019 state budget and over what might happen during its discussion in Parliament.

“We have reservations over a lot of things in the state budget and we have concerns over what might happen in Parliament and during implementation,” Bassil said after the weekly meeting of the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc.

The Commander of United States Air Force Central Command Lieutenant General Joseph Guastella met with Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces General Joseph Aoun, as well as key leaders in the LAF Air Force, while visiting Hamat Air Base and Beirut Air Base on Monday and Tuesday.

In his meetings, General Guastella discussed "the many challenges faced by the Lebanese Armed Forces Air Force and reaffirmed the U.S. government’s commitment to strengthening the Lebanese-American partnership and its support to the Lebanese Armed Forces in their capacity as the sole, legitimate defender of Lebanon," the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said in a statement.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Lebanon and Israel are close to establishing a framework for negotiations on demarcating the Lebanese-Israeli land and maritime borders.

In a statement, it said the form of negotiations to be held under United Nations auspices and the role of each of the concerned parties is still being worked out. The purported negotiations are to be overseen by Washington, which has been mediating between the two Mideast nations.

Public institutions will close down on the first and second days of Eid al-Fitr, a memo issued by Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Tuesday.