Head of a major Beirut public hospital battling Covid-19, Firas Abiad warned of the consequences after medicine distributors said they were halting delivery of medical supplies amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

The Israeli army released videos on Friday meant to prove the presence of Hizbullah missile factories in the suburbs of Beirut, despite the denials of the Lebanese Shiite movement.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hizbullah of manufacturing and storing weapons near fuel facilities in Beirut and warned of a "another tragedy" in the event of an explosion.

Lebanese activists of the October 17 uprising plan to kick start popular moves in the upcoming stage mainly marking its one-year anniversary, MTV television station reported on Friday.

The station said groups of activists held a series of meetings in the last few days to that end.

Lebanon requested international arrest warrants for the owner and captain of a vessel that contained a shipment of fertiliser behind Beirut's massive port blast, a judicial source said.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker announced Thursday that Washington will continue to slap sanctions on Lebanese individuals despite the U.S.-mediated framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel to launch talks over their disputed borders.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft said Thursday that the U.S.-mediated framework agreement to launch border demarcation talks between Lebanon and Israel was “yet another example” of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “historic efforts toward Middle East peace.”

The “leaders of Israel and Lebanon have agreed to discuss their maritime boundary. This agreement holds the potential for economic development in the Mediterranean & greater stability for the people,” Craft added in a tweet.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday said that Lebanon should follow the “Lebanese way” in the border demarcation talks with Israel.

“This time we have to negotiate not according to the Persian way nor according to the Arab way, but rather in our Lebanese way: firmness and flexibility -- the firmness of adhering to rights and flexibility in science and solutions,” Bassil tweeted.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Thursday said success in the upcoming Lebanese-Israeli negotiations to demarcate the disputed border between the two sides will likely boost stability in the region.

"I believe that success in the talks will significantly contribute to the stability of the region and promote prosperity for the citizens of both Israel and Lebanon," he said.

President Michel Aoun will be in charge of the border negotiations with Israel in line with Article 52 of the Constitution, the Presidency said on Thursday.

It added that Aoun will oversee “the formation of the negotiating Lebanese delegation” and will “follow up on the negotiation stages.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed Thursday an agreement under which Israel and Lebanon will discuss their disputed maritime and land borders.

"This historic agreement between the two parties was brokered by the United States and is the result of nearly three years of intense diplomatic engagement" by U.S. diplomats David Satterfield and David Schenker, Pompeo said in a statement.