Hezbollah condemned Friday remarks by the Head of Foreign Affairs in the Lebanese Forces Party, Richard Kouyoumjian, who criticized the Shiite Mutaa marriage and the political Shiism that he described as "arrogant."

"Even if religion allows it, Mutaa marriage remains an adultery that results in an illegitimate child whose mother is ashamed of, and whose actual father is different from his real father," Kouyoumjian had said in a tweet.

Lebanon is navigating a devastating economic crisis that has plunged more than 80 percent of the population into poverty, according to the United Nations.

Strikes and absenteeism have paralyzed public services, the state is barely able to provide a few hours of mains electricity a day, and the local currency has lost most of its value against the greenback since 2019.

MP Wael Abu Faour has affirmed to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat that Saudi Arabia will not support the election of Hezbollah's presidential candidate Suleiman Franjieh, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported Friday.

Marada leader Franjieh, a former lawmaker and minister close to Hezbollah and a personal friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has not officially announced his candidacy, but said he was interested in the position.

Presidential candidate MP Michel Mouawad on Thursday lashed out at Speaker Nabih Berri in a barb-filled statement, after the latter described him as an “in vitro experiment” candidate.

Supermarkets in Lebanon have started pricing items in U.S. dollars instead of the nose-diving local currency, after a government announcement allowing the practice in a country heavily reliant on imports.

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been facing a dramatic economic crisis that has seen poverty rates climb to reach more than 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations.

One person was killed and several others wounded in overnight clashes in south Lebanon's restive Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp, a Palestinian official said Thursday.

The clashes pitted members of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement against Islamist groups in the camp, located near the coastal city of Sidon, said senior Fatah official Mounir Makdah.

Most opposition MPs do not back Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea’s stance on boycotting presidential vote sessions should Hezbollah secure 65 votes for Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, a media report said on Thursday.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will not call for another "theatrical" session that would not elect a president.

In an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper, Berri said that he will try to break the impasse and that he will only call for a session when he senses that the parties are ready to elect, not to "waste time" and "make statements."

U.S. State Department Rewards for Justice Program has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Hezbollah.

"Mohammad Bazzi's been arrested, but Hezbollah is still collecting revenue through people like him. So you may be eligible for a reward if you submit information about Hezbollah's financial network," Rewards for Justice said in a tweet.

The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) -- launched by the U.N. Secretary-General with former President Michel Sleiman to help mobilize support and assistance for Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and state institutions -- urged Thursday the political leadership and MPs to elect a new president "without further delay."

"As the presidential vacancy enters its fifth month, amid lacking reforms, entrenching positions and deepening polarization, the International Support Group for Lebanon is gravely concerned about the ramifications of a prolonged presidential vacuum," the ISG said in a statement.