The media offices of Michel Aoun and Saad Hariri exchanged statements, each accusing the other of holding up cabinet formation. The president’s office said he refused to sign the latest lineup of ministers presented by Hariri due to his objection that the premier-designate was making “one-sided” decisions on naming ministers — particularly Christian figures — without Aoun’s agreement. Hariri’s office hit back by claiming that Hariri had chosen the Christian ministers from a list given to him by the president and asked Aoun to give orders “to stop the manipulation of the path” toward forming a government. Hariri was chosen by a parliamentary majority to form a “rescue” government almost two months ago. Politicians are scrambling to show some progress — or potentially deflect blame — ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Lebanon next week.

Four of Lebanon’s five living former prime ministers came to the defense of Hassan Diab, adding their voices to accusations from Sunni figures that the outgoing premier is being unfairly targeted in the probe into the Aug. 4 explosion. In a statement, former prime ministers Saad Hariri, Tammam Salam, Najib Mikati and Fouad Siniora said that if Judge Fadi Sawwan was choosing to interpret the constitution to charge a sitting premier, then he could also choose to pursue President Michel Aoun. Both Aoun and Diab were informed of the presence of some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate unsafely stored at the port, but port and customs officials also sent letters warning of the danger during the tenures of Hariri and Salam.

Judge Fadi Sawwan rescheduled the hearing of Hassan Diab in the investigation into the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion after the caretaker premier refused to attend questioning yesterday. The outgoing prime minister, who was charged with criminal negligence alongside three former ministers last week, has “said all he had to say in his first affidavit to the judge a few months back,” a source at the Grand Serail told L’Orient Today. If Diab continues not to comply with the investigation, Sawwan could issue an arrest warrant against him. However, caretaker Interior Minister Mohamed Fehmi told Al-Joumhouria that he would not order security forces to execute an arrest warrant, even if it meant facing prosecution himself.

Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat recused himself as prosecutor in the explosion investigation as he is the brother-in-law of one of the accused — former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter. Oueidat’s duties will now be transferred to Judge Ghassan Khoury, a prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, who has already been involved in the investigation. Nizar Saghieh, the executive director of the Legal Agenda, tweeted that Oueidat’s decision was the “minimum” he could have done and that his replacement with his “right-hand man,” Khoury, was “not a sufficient guarantee for witnesses and victims.”

The Military Tribunal sentenced activist Kinda al-Khatib to three years’ imprisonment with hard labor on charges of communicating with Israeli agents and entering Israeli controlled territory. The 24-year-old civilian, who has been in detention since she was first arrested in June, denies that she committed any crime, telling the court yesterday that she didn’t know that a person who had contacted her on Twitter was an Israeli journalist and had informed security forces once she did find out. The court also sentenced Charbel Hage, a Lebanese civilian living in the US, to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor in absentia on charges of collaboration with Israel.

Caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni signed a $246 million agreement to create a social safety net for Lebanon’s most vulnerable families. The loan package, negotiated with the World Bank, will provide cash transfer and social services to around 155,000 of Lebanon’s poorest households who have been impacted by the economic crisis and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Bank’s board is set to meet on Thursday to approve the plan.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced the beginning of a program to track pharmaceutical products via bar code. It will initially be rolled out for pharmaceutical importers and wholesalers, while the Health Ministry works with the World Health Organization over the next few months to support pharmacists who do not have the means to install the required bar code scanners and computer software. The system, Hassan said, aims to clamp down on smuggling, ensure medicine is being stored properly and prevent stockpiling in warehouses or patients’ homes.

The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units increased by 23 between Sunday and Monday. There are now 414 patients in ICU; the country had 485 beds as of Sunday night, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization. Firass Abiad, the head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, called the rise “alarming” and warned that hospitals may be at full occupancy “even before the expected surge that will follow the festivities” over the holiday season and amid relaxed coronavirus containment measures.