Acting State Commissioner to Military Court Judge Fadi Akiki on Thursday defended the controversial detention and interrogation of Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj, who is the Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and Palestine and Jordan.

“The funds that he was transporting, around $460,000, are not owned by the church but they rather came from collaborators residing in Israel, the majority of whom work for the enemy in the occupied territories,” Akiki said in an interview with An-Nahar newspaper.

Black smoke was bellowing heavily on Thursday afternoon from the blast-hit silos at Beirut port.

Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi meanwhile tasked the Beirut Fire Brigade and the Civil Defense to immediately launch cooling operations in a manner that “does not threaten the safety of individuals and does not pose a risk to the silos.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat tweeted Thursday that the arrest of Archbishop Mussa al-Hajj must be addressed calmly.

"It would be better to address the issue in a calm way, instead of making noise about it," Jumblat said, adding that it is important during these hard circumstances to respect the institutions.

Al-Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh met Thursday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over the arrest and summons of archbishop Mussa al-Hajj.

Franjieh said that there's a fifth column in al-Hajj's case and asked who might benefit from the incident, as he condemned the act without blaming his allies, the Shiite Duo.

Army chief Joseph Aoun is not comfortable with Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea supporting him as a Presidency candidate, al-Joumhouria newspaper said.

The daily on Thursday reported that Aoun doesn't want his name to circulate as a candidate for Presidency.

Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid has told U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein that he wants to make a deal with Lebanon over the disputed maritime border as soon as possible, American news website Axios reported.

The conversation between Lapid and Hochstein took place last week on the sidelines of Biden's visit to Israel.

Lebanon's General Security agency denied Thursday any call between General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, following the arrest and summons of archbishop Mussa al-Hajj.

The General Security said in a statement that the arrest of Hajj is "a judicial procedure that anyone who crosses from and to Palestinian territories is subject to, without any exception."

Sitting outside her tent in a camp in eastern Lebanon, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee contemplated the sunset and her worsening options.

Umm Jawad fled to Lebanon in 2011 to escape a Syrian government siege of her hometown of Homs. She managed to survive over the past decade, despite Lebanon's devastating economic meltdown and souring attitudes toward Syrian refugees.

An emergency meeting was held Wednesday in Bkirki by the council of Maronite bishops to discuss the issue of General Security’s detention and lengthy interrogation of the Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land and the Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and Palestine and Jordan, Moussa El-Hage.

“The closing statement will be strongly-worded, it will mention certain steps and officials will be demanded to execute them,” MTV reported.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Gegaea on Wednesday expressed concern over Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest televised speech, in which the latter threatened Israel with military action if Lebanon’s sea border demarcation demands are not met.

A statement issued after Geagea met with the visiting American Task Force for Lebanon delegation said talks tackled border demarcation among other issues and that the delegation put Geagea in the picture of “the atmosphere in the United States and the stances of Lebanese leaders on the demarcation issue.”