Lebanon

Hussein and Zahraa, 3, displaced Lebanese twins who fled with their parents from their village of Mais al-Jabal in south Lebanon amid the ongoing Hezbollah-Israel war, play on a gun with a twisted barrel statute, symbolizing anti-violence, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo)

The leaders of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) on Wednesday adopted a declaration calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

The declaration came after the 11th Summit of the Heads of State of the OTS, held in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

In the face of escalating regional tensions and devastating Israeli bombardments, Lebanon's healthcare system has found an unexpected lifeline in the newly expanded Turkish Hospital in Sidon.

This comes as a ray of hope in a country where eight hospitals have been rendered inoperative due to intense Israeli attacks.

Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel on Friday of rejecting a ceasefire after the Israeli military bombed Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold for the first time this week.

In Gaza, where Israel has been engaged in a major offensive in the north for nearly a month, a Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group had rejected a proposal for a short-term truce.

A Turkish vessel carrying 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid docked at Beirut's port on Friday, providing critical support to Lebanon amid ongoing Israeli attacks in the region.

At least 10 strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Friday, after the Israeli army issued orders for buildings in the Hezbollah stronghold to be evacuated.

The strikes come a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met visiting U.S. officials to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Lebanon with the death toll mounting on both sides of the border.

Greece sent a new shipment of humanitarian aid to Lebanon on Thursday, organized by the Foreign Ministry and the ministries of Defense and Health, as well as the General Secretariat for Civil Protection.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the aid was transported on a Hellenic Air Force C-130 aircraft and included essential medical supplies and other critical items.

Several Lebanese ministers on Oct. 25 accused Israel of committing war crimes by targeting journalists, hospitals and rescue workers amid the U.S. push to reach a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.

The first accusation came from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati after Israel carried out a strike in the country's south and killed three media workers.

A policeman checks a destroyed vehicle, at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, in Hasbaya village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.