Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday announced that a first ship carrying diesel and other essential goods would sail from Iran to Lebanon "within hours," warning the U.S. and Israel against targeting it.

President Michel Aoun’s adviser for Russian affairs, ex-MP Amal Abu Zeid, has held talks in Russia with Mikhail Bogdanov -- the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa.

Residents from the southern city of Nabatiyeh overnight intercepted a patrol belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has stressed that his party rejects the smuggling of fuel and other subsidized goods from Lebanon to Syria, as he accused Washington of waging an “economic war” on the country.

“We reject smuggling and we do not accept it. We are not covering anyone. Let anyone come forward and say that Hizbullah has intervened for the release of anyone arrested by the Lebanese Army, the Lebanese security forces or the Lebanese judiciary on charges of smuggling diesel and gasoline to Syria,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking the ninth night of the Ashura religious commemorations.

Gunshots and a shoulder-fired rocket have targeted a petrol station in the Beirut southern suburb of al-Laylaki, the latest in a series of incidents rattling motorists lining up in long petrol queues.

The NNA said the army deployed in the area after several people were wounded in the shooting, but did not provide more details.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called on Tuesday for a parliament session, to discuss President Michel Aoun’s letter on the subsidization crisis.

The session will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 20, at the UNESCO Palace.

The Public Works Parliamentary Committee, the caretaker ministers of energy and finance, Electricite du Liban, the private oil companies and the state-run oil facilities held a meeting Tuesday in the presence of a central bank representative, al-Jadeed TV said.

Fuel shortages threaten the provision of essential health and water services across Lebanon, putting thousands of families in Lebanon at risk of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi warned on Tuesday.

The meeting between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati resulted in placing two lists of names for the new government portfolios, according to informed sources.

The sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Tuesday that “the names that have been circulating for some portfolios, especially for the ministries of interior and defense, are not accurate.”

The Israeli army said on Tuesday that its Galilee Division has started “this morning” a planned military exercise to test its forces' readiness “in the event of a sudden incident on Lebanon's border.”

"The exercise comes within the framework of military readiness tests that were planned for the 2021 annual training plan," according to a tweet published by Israeli army Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee.