Still reeling from a deadly port blast that ravaged their Beirut homes and businesses, Lebanese wearily braced themselves for a new coronavirus lockdown Friday.

One person was killed and three others were injured as a dispute erupted into gunfire in the southern town of Loubieh, the National News Agency said.

The deceased person succumbed to his wounds in hospital, as security forces sought to contain the situation in cooperation with the area’s dignitaries, NNA said.

Lebanon recorded 605 new coronavirus cases and four deaths over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Thursday evening.

In its daily statement, the Ministry said 597 of the cases were recorded among residents and eight among individuals coming from abroad.

The Beirut eastern suburb of Nabaa, the coastal Khalde area south of Beirut and the Bekaa town of Saadnayel have witnessed tensions following separate incidents over the past hours.

The tensions in Nabaa erupted after the torching of a banner related to the Shiite religious occasion of Ashoura and a picture of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, reports said.

Lebanon on Thursday received Iraqi, Omani and Ukrainian aid as part of the relief efforts aimed at addressing the repercussions of the devastating Beirut port blast.

The Lebanese Army said a Ukrainian plane carrying medical aid landed at Beirut airport as 31 tankers carrying diesel and dispatched by Iraq entered the country via the al-Masnaa border crossing.

Consultations to form a new government have kicked off based on a “French paper” and another prepared by ex-PM Saad Hariri, TV networks said on Thursday.

“The talks over the government are based on a French paper that was delivered to a number of Lebanese leaders,” the reports said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday welcomed the verdict issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri while describing it as incomplete.

“The LF supported the STL from the very first moment and that’s why we will accept the verdict issued by it as it is, with all due openness and satisfaction,” Geagea said at a press conference that followed a meeting for the LF-led Strong Republic bloc.

President Michel Aoun said in a tweet on Thursday that he seeks to include in the new government “competent” figures representing anti-government protesters of the October 17 uprising.

The French Embassy in Lebanon issued a statement by the French Foreign Ministry, welcoming the final ruling of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the murder case of ex-PM Rafic Hariri, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly emphasized during his recent talks with officials that naming ex-PM Saad Hariri to form a new government is "a basic need" at this critical stage in Lebanon to prevent attempts to awaken sedition, Saudi Asharq el-Awsat newspaper reported on Thursday.