A Hizbullah commander, who had been missing for months in Syria, was buried in on Wednesday after his body was repatriated following his torture and killing by rebels, relatives told Agence France Presse.

Hussein Salah Habib, 30, was captured by opposition fighters during the fight for Qusayr, a strategic town near the border that fell to the regime on June 5.

The U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning advisory to Lebanon over safety and security concerns, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Wednesday.

According to a statement obtained by the daily, the U.S. embassy in Lebanon conveyed the country's warning, which called on its nationals to “take the highest precaution measures during the upcoming two weeks.”

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn denied on Wednesday that he had made any statements to any media outlets, said his press office in a statement.

The statement was issued after Agence France Presse said that he had confirmed the arrest of Majed al-Mjaed, the "emir" of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the Al-Qaida linked group that claimed a double suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in November.

Syrian jets carried out an airstrike on Wednesday on the outskirts of the eastern border town of Arsal, media reports said.

Ten people were wounded in the airstrike, eyewitnesses told the state-run National News Agecny.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi hailed on Wednesday Saudi Arabia's financial donation to the Lebanese army, hoping that it would pave the way to Lebanese political initiatives among the rival parties.

He said during new year mass: “We hope the donation will help lead to an understanding between the rival powers and to the formation of a new government.”

A fake bomb was placed under a car in the Beirut southern suburb of Shiyyah on Tuesday.

“A hoax bomb consisted of fake dynamite sticks, a nonoperational clock and a nylon bag was found under a car in the Asaad al-Asaad Street in Shiyyah,” the Internal Security Forces said on its Twitter page.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on Tuesday announced that the country is going through “a difficult but not dangerous period,” urging citizens to avoid celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve.

“There's no doubt that we're going through a difficult period, but it's not dangerous, and there are indications that dialogue will be held in the new year so that we form a new cabinet and start building the state and its institutions,” Charbel reassured, as he launched a security plan for the NYE from the Dbaye barracks.

An Israeli unit crossed on Tuesday the technical border fence in the Wadi al-Qatmoun region near the southern town of Rmeish.

The unit, consisting of three Merkava tanks, carried out patrol in the area.

Army Intelligence recently arrested a suspect wanted by Saudi Arabia and a member of al-Nusra Front in Syria, reported LBCI television on Tuesday.

It said that Majed al-Majed was arrested about a week ago in Beirut.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday described the announced Saudi donation to the Lebanese Army as an “important step,” urging all parties to respond to it positively.

“It is a must to laud and hail the important step that was achieved through the Saudi-French cooperation that is aimed at supporting and boosting the capabilities of the Lebanese Army,” said Jumblat in a statement issued by the PSP.