The Lebanese Armed Forces received on Monday an armed Cessna aircraft from the United States as part of a vital aspect of the cooperation between the two countries.

“U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard participated in a ceremony to celebrate the delivery of an armed Cessna aircraft to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), highlighting the U.S. commitment to Lebanon’s security,” a US embassy statement said.

The members of the International Support Group for Lebanon welcomed the cabinet formation and congratulated Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his cabinet, a statement said Monday.

“The members of the ISG hope that the positive momentum created with the election of a president and the formation of a government can be maintained and capitalized on. This is a much-needed opportunity for the Lebanese leadership to reactivate state institutions and fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the Lebanese people, by addressing the urgent challenges Lebanon faces,” said the statement.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard welcomed on Monday the formation of a new government in Lebanon.

“I want to personally congratulate Prime Minister Hariri and commend him on forming a government,” Ambassador Richard said.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Monday the formation of the new cabinet and congratulated Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the swift process and national accord in Lebanon.

The Secretary-General welcomes today’s announcement of the formation of a new government of national accord in Lebanon. He congratulates Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the swift process and encourages Lebanon’s political leaders to build on the momentum of national unity, a statement said.

The first cabinet under the tenure of President Michel Aoun was formed on Sunday, 45 days after the designation of PM Saad Hariri for the task with the aim of approving a new election law to hold the upcoming parliamentary election slated in May 2017 on time.

The new government did not take a lot of time to be shaped, although the formation process witnessed some delay, compared to other governments which took from 6 to 11 months to form, media reports said.

Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil stated that the FPM makes sacrifices for the greater interest of Lebanon alone, as he assured that the delayed cabinet will eventually be formed, the National News Agency said Saturday.

“I assure you today that the government will be formed. You must put any delay in a simple equation which states that we are people who know well when to make sacrifices in favor of others in order to make Lebanon benefit,” said Bassil at the annual dinner held by the FPM-Byblos branch a day earlier.

Al-Mustaqbal MP Jean Oghassapian said on Saturday it is impossible to reach a complete proportional representation election law in light of the spread of Hizbullah's arms.

“Everyone knows that proportional representation will not be passed in the parliament, and it is impossible to reach this representation under the logic of arms spread in specific areas,” said Oghassapian in an interview to Free Lebanon radio.

The Lebanese Forces party said forming a new cabinet is facing complexities because shifting to form a cabinet of 30 ministers instead of 24 requires anew consultations, and stressed that they will not concede any ministerial portfolio in the new line-up agreement, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

“The formation of the cabinet is getting complicated,” Maarab sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Speaker Nabih Berri said he knows the “secret” behind the delay in the cabinet formation but prefers not to be “provoked” into disclosing it to the public, al-Joumhouria daily reported Saturday.

“I know where the problem is, and I know the secret behind the obstructions. Don't provoke us to make us announce it frankly and publicly,” sources close to Berri quoted him as saying.

The Israeli army fired four flare bombs at dawn on Friday from Ramtha over the heights of Jabal al- Saddaneh, north of the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line, the National News Agency reported.

The flare bombs were fired simultaneously with the overflight of a reconnaissance drone over the border area of Arqoub in south Lebanon, NNA added.