The Lebanese Army received a shipment of Chinese weapons Friday, the latest in a recent series of international arms deliveries to help Lebanon contain the militants on its eastern border with Syria, Lebanon’s Daily Star reports. The Army statement did not specify what types of weapons and ammunition, or the quantity of the arms, were included in the shipment, which arrived in Beirut’s port before noon. Financed by Saudi grants worth about US$4 Billion, Lebanon has recently purchased weapons from France, USA, Italy and Brazil.

Across the border with Syria, Hezbollah and the Syrian army Friday struck at militant positions inside Zabadani at the southern end of Qalamoun, on the third day of an offensive aimed at capturing the strategic Syrian town. The forces blocked the main road north of Zabadani to isolate the area from the Qalamoun towns of Serghaya and Ain Hor. Zabadani bears strategic significance for Hezbollah since it once served as a logistical hub for supplying Hezbollah with Iranian weapons. It also served as a base for party fighters and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.