A 25-year-old Lebanese businessman has been kidnapped in northern Venezuela, his relative in Lebanon said Thursday.

Omar Hussein Fares, who has an electronics shop in the state of Falcon, was kidnapped several days ago, the National News Agency quoted his relative as saying.

U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly visited on Thursday the UNHCR registration center in Beirut during which she underscored President Barack Obama’s recent announcement of nearly $29 million in humanitarian assistance for Lebanon to support the refugees.

During her visit, Connelly “met with UNHCR Country Representative Ninette Kelley and with Syrian families who have sought protection in Lebanon from the continuing violence in Syria,” said a U.S. embassy statement.

Israel was on Thursday tightlipped over Syrian claims it had bombed a military site near Damascus, while stressing that any transfer of advanced weaponry to Hizbullah would cross a red line.

Israeli officials and the military refused to confirm or deny any involvement in the alleged attack and had no comment on separate reports from security sources that its warplanes had struck a weapons convoy along the Syria-Lebanon border.

President Michel Suleiman hoped on Thursday that the promises of the international community to help Lebanon meet the demands of Syrian refugees escaping the fighting in their country would be translated into deeds.

“We received signals that there is a certain support … But previous experiences haven't been very encouraging,” Suleiman told a delegation from the Association of Arab Newspaper Reporters in Lebanon.

Several Lebanese officials condemned on Thursday an Israeli air strike against a Syrian military research center, accusing the Jewish state of exploiting the current situation in the neighboring country to carry out its “flagrant aggression.”

“Israel is exploiting the developments in Syria to carry out its aggressive policies, indifferent to all the humanitarian and international treaties,” President Michel Suleiman said in a statement issued by his press office.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hailed on Thursday ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri for exerting strong efforts to help the different factions agree on an electoral draft-law that guarantees the best representation for all the Lebanese.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Geagea said he was glad that discussions on an electoral draft-law have reached their final stages. “We will continue to seek with al-Mustaqbal movement and the rest of the parties in the parliamentary subcommittee to reach (an agreement) on the law.”

Hizbullah condemned on Thursday a reported Israeli attack on a Syrian military research center, saying it reveals the Jewish state's attempts to destroy Damascus.

The attack “fully unmasked what has been happening in Syria over the past two years and the criminal objectives of destroying this country and weakening its army, which discloses a bigger conspiracy against the Arab and Muslim countries,” a statement issued by Hizbullah said.

Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel has said that French President Francois Hollande, who encourages dialogue among the Lebanese, promised him to consolidate his support for Lebanon.

The French “administration is working for Lebanon and the interest of all the Lebanese no matter what their religious or political belongings are,” Gemayel said following his talks with Hollande at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri received on Wednesday a telephone call from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to discuss the latest developments, announced the latter's press office in a statement.

The two officials stressed the need to preserve national unity and “maintain the principles of coexistence” in line with the Taef Accord, especially in light of the challenges Lebanon is facing on the local and regional scenes.

The Syrian army said that an Israeli air strike at dawn on Wednesday targeted a military research center in Jamraya, near Damascus, after several media reports said Israeli warplanes bombed a weapons convoy near the border with Lebanon.

Residents who spoke to Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity, however, said the strike targeted a non-conventional weapons research center some 15 kilometers (10 miles) northwest of the Syrian capital.