Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea described as “disappointing” the Higher Defense Council’s decision to “curb” smuggling through Lebanon’s illegal border crossings, saying they should have been ordered closed “entirely.”

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor on Wednesday pressed charges against 12 people including government officials over a delivery of suspect fuel through an Algerian oil company, state media said. 

The Higher Defense Council on Wednesday decided to "intensify monitoring and prosecution and toughen penalties against smugglers and their partners" in a bid to control illicit trafficking across the porous and poorely demarcated border with Syria.

The Lebanese government and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday finished the first phase of “talks aimed at reaching an agreement that would re-put the Lebanese economy on the correct track,” the Finance Ministry said.

The International Support Group of Lebanon on Wednesday called on the Lebanese government to “engage all relevant stakeholders, most importantly the Lebanese people, in consultations” on its financial rescue plan.

The Lebanese Order of Physicians and the deans of medical faculties on Wednesday called for stricter measures in the face of a new spike in the country's coronavirus cases.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday said the Lebanese government must cooperate with its Syrian counterpart if it wants to put an end to cross-border smuggling.

President Michel Aoun held talks Wednesday afternoon with Prime Minister Hassan Diab ahead of a Higher Defense Council meeting.

The Ministry of Tourism on Wednesday announced the closure of all tourism institutions and restaurants across Lebanon during the four-day shutdown over coronavirus, the National News Agency reported.

The Ministry later announced that it was reversing a decision on suspending restaurant delivery services. It confirmed that they will be allowed to operate between 5:00 am and 6:00 pm.

The number of coronavirus cases in Lebanon rose to 878 on Wednesday, as the country eyes a four-day shutdown to stem the spread of the virus recording new highs in the past few days.