A ship bringing corn to Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli normally would not cause a stir. But it's getting attention because of where it came from: Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa.

The Razoni, loaded with more than 26,000 tons of corn for chicken feed, is emerging from the edges of a Russian war that has threatened food supplies in countries like Lebanon, which has the world's highest rate of food inflation -- a staggering 122% -- and depends on the Black Sea region for nearly all of its wheat.

Hezbollah on Friday offered warm condolences to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group after Israeli strikes on Gaza killed senior commander Taysir al-Jabari and 14 other people, in what Israel has described as a major military campaign against the group.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati accused Friday the Free Patriotic Movement of political blackmail, after a series of statement attacks between the two.

Minutes after the FPM issued a statement slamming Mikati for corruption, the latter hit back at FPM chief Jebran Bassil without naming him, criticizing him for lecturing about honesty and rightness, while he is internationally sanctioned for corruption.

The Free Patriotic movement responded Friday to a statement by Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati accusing the FPM of corruption.

The FPM asked what are Mikati's national achievements, accusing him back of corruption and of trying to please foreign countries.

Lebanon did not sell any passports to non-Lebanese, the Presidency said Friday. "The report published in the French Liberation newspaper is false and baseless."

The premiership also denied a naturalization decree reported in the daily without naming it, affirming that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is not considering such a decree.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon has announced a strike starting Monday, as it said in a statement that banks can no longer bear harmful and populist measures against them.

The Banks Association decried the arrest of the Chairman of Creditbank, stressing that banks should not be blamed for the economic situation.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Friday Hezbollah's missiles are directly serving Iran's strategic interests.

"This has led to enormous consequences on the Lebanese people," he added.

An organization of Americans of Lebanese descent in the U.S. has remembered in a statement the second anniversary of the Beirut Port Explosion and grieved with the many families "who still feel the pain of lost loved ones."

"August 4, 2020 was a day that will forever mark Lebanon and from which the country is still reeling. The passage of time does not bring back loved ones,” the Lebanese Information Center President, Joseph Gebeily, said.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday decried "the ugly political exploitation against the resistance" in connection with the Beirut port blast case.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged that he “will not let Lebanon collapse and vanish,” as he warned against a new conflict with Israel.