The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) on Friday welcomed the timely conduct of the parliamentary elections in Lebanon on May 15, expressing its appreciation for “the professionalism, hard work and dedication of the Lebanese civil servants involved in the electoral process” and commending the security forces for “maintaining public order during its conduct.”

“The ISG is encouraged by the Lebanese people’s civic participation in these elections in Lebanon and abroad, which was an opportunity for them to articulate their aspirations and to have their voices heard; they deserve that,” the ISG said in a statement.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called for postponing the debate over his group’s controversial arsenal of weapons for “two more years,” as he called for a quick formation of a new government.

“I agree that the (parliamentary) majority will be on a file-by-file basis,” Nasrallah said in a televised address marking six years since the death in Syria of Hizbullah’s top military commander Mustafa Badreddine.

The employees of state-run mobile network operators Alfa and touch began a strike on Friday morning, which resulted in the closure of all of the two companies’ stores and disrupted bill payment services and the distribution of recharge cards.

A technical malfunction also hit a key station in the Corniche el-Nahr area and was not repaired due to the strike.

Cabinet on Friday approved the economic recovery plan amid the objection of the ministers of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, TV networks said.

It also approved $35 million for cancer and chronic illness medicines, noting that the amount “will be provided in fresh dollars by the housing bank.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has designated Ahmad Jalal Reda Abdallah, a Lebanese businessman and Hizbullah “financial facilitator,” as well as five of his associates and eight of his companies in Lebanon and Iraq.

“This action illuminates Hizbullah’s modus operandi of using the cover of seemingly legitimate businesses to generate revenue and leverage commercial investments across a multitude of sectors to secretly fund Hizbullah and its terrorist activities. It also demonstrates how Hizbullah goes to great lengths to establish companies with opaque ownership structure in order to conceal their involvement in these businesses, and also their involvement in criminal activities such as altering of medication labels for black market pharmaceutical sales,” the Treasury said in a statement.

The Israeli army accused Friday Hizbullah of "exposing civilians to danger" by transferring arms on civilian flights from Iran to Damascus.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed in a tweet in Arabic that the transfer is managed by Reda Safieddine, son of Head of Hizbullah's Executive Council Hashem Safieddine.

Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corm on Thursday said Cabinet has a “last chance” to save the telecom sector from collapse in Friday’s session, warning that his resignation is on the table if no action is taken.

“If the decree of hiking telecom tariffs is not approved, do not hold me responsible. The elections are over and the issue no longer bears politicization. The failure to approve the tariff will affect citizens in a more negative manner and in the name of the Lebanese economy we are raising our voices,” Corm said at a press conference.

The head of the flour mills syndicate in Lebanon announced Thursday that the bread crisis in the country has been resolved, adding that bread will be available in the market as of tomorrow.

The Economy Ministry had earlier on Thursday hiked the price of flat Arabic bread, the main staple in Lebanon.

The World Health Organization representative in Lebanon, Dr. Iman Shankiti, and the Italian Ambassador in Beirut, Nicoletta Bombardiere, signed an agreement Thursday at the Italian Embassy in Beirut worth 1,616,000 euros, which is aimed at supporting the strengthening of public health systems in Lebanon.

"It has two main pillars: the first is improving the government’s regulatory capacity in terms of access to quality medications, by expanding the pharmaceuticals bar code system at the national level, and the second is enhancing the capacity of public hospitals to deliver quality services, by supporting selected public hospitals in terms of emergency care capacity," a joint statement said.

Chairing his first Tripartite meeting with senior Lebanese and Israeli officers, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro expressed his hope to use the forum "to move beyond the delivery of statements to emphasize finding solutions."

The UNIFIL Head made the comments at a meeting held in Ras al-Naqoura, Lebanon.