Saad al-Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new Lebanese government, on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse, a source said.

Hariri's resignation on Tuesday left a political vacuum at a moment of acute crisis, with reforms urgently needed to ward off even deeper financial problems in one of the world's most heavily indebted states.

After two weeks of anti-government protests largely subsided following Hariri's announcement, main roads in Lebanon reopened on Wednesday as security forces sought to restore a semblance of normality.

Banks remained closed for an 11th working day but the Association of Lebanese Banks said they would resume normal operations and receive customers on Friday.

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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigns amid protests

With Lebanon in deadlock, protesters form human chain

People took to the streets again late on Wednesday in some parts of Lebanon, including in Beirut and the northern Akkar region where the army clashed with protesters blocking a road.

Hariri resigned after massive protests against the political elite, accused by demonstrators of overseeing rampant state corruption, saying he had hit a "dead end" in trying to resolve the crisis. 

The senior official, who declined to be identified, said any new cabinet led by Hariri should not include a group of top-tier politicians who were in the outgoing coalition government, without naming them.

The cabinet comprised top representatives of most of Lebanon's sectarian parties, among them foreign minister Gebran Bassil of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement, a prominent target of protesters.

Bassil is a political ally of the powerful Iranian-backed Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which had opposed the government's resignation and has yet to comment on the departure of Hariri, a long-time opponent of the group.

The crisis has weighed on the country's sovereign debt and increased pressure on the Lebanese pound, which has been weakening on the parallel market below the official rate of 1,507.5 to the U.S. dollar. Prices in the black market for dollars varied from 1,750 to 1,850 pounds on Wednesday.

The banks had publicly raised security fears as the reason for their closure. Bankers and analysts have also cited concern about a rush by savers to withdraw their savings or transfer them abroad once the banks reopen.

(Cover: Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri announces the resignation of his government in the capital Beirut, Lebanon, October 29, 2019. /VCG Photo)