"If there is no fuel, there is no electricity. And if there is no electricity, there is no life," said an employee of a Lebanese power company who did not wish to be named.

"We are in desperate need of fuel. All these ships that have been evacuating their citizens needed to bring us fuel," he said bitterly.

The south of the country, hardest hit by Israel's military offensive, has been paralysed. Desperately needed humanitarian supplies have not been able to reach residents after roads and bridges were bombed.

The UN force in Lebanon said on Wednesday that the continued operation of some of its positions could be at risk if they are not resupplied with fuel in the next 48 hours.

But even in central Beirut, which has largely been spared Israeli strikes, residents are having to alter their daily routines in a desperate measure to save on the dwindling energy supplies.

A petrol shortage and frequent power cuts have isolated people in their homes. And the threat of water shortages is creeping closer to the war-ravaged country.

"I can't get petrol which is a disaster for me," said Soliman Khaled, a taxi driver in Beirut.

"I know the man at the petrol station, so he helps me get petrol when he can, but others are not so lucky," he said, pointing to the queue of more than a dozen cars which had formed outside a closed petrol station in Beirut, clogging traffic in all directions.

For personal errands, Soliman would rather avoid car trips all together.

"If I can walk, I'd rather walk. I need to save petrol. What if I have an emergency at home and need to take someone to hospital?" he said.