Lebanon

 Türkiye, along with a number of countries, issued travel advisories for their citizens who are in Lebanon or plan to travel there amid an escalation of tensions following the assassinations of a top commander of Hezbollah and the political chief of Hamas.

Israel conducted airstrikes in southern Syria and Lebanon last night, resulting in casualties. According to local media reports cited by Reuters, two people were killed in a Syrian area. Additionally, one Syrian serviceman was wounded, and five others were injured in Lebanon.

European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that the Middle East was close to seeing the conflict expanding into Lebanon just days after Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah threatened EU member Cyprus.

"The risk of this war affecting the south of Lebanon and spilling over is every day bigger," Borrell told reporters ahead of a foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg. 

Greece's foreign minister said on Monday that threats by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah against Cyprus were unacceptable and the European Union would stand by member-states against all such threats.

The Greek Foreign Ministry expressed its solidarity with the "brother people" of Cyprus in the wake of threats issued by Hezbollah on Wednesday against the island nation's government.

"The threat to use force constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations," the relevant statement stressed.

Cyprus reacted with incredulity on Thursday to warnings from Lebanon's Hezbollah that the island could be dragged into conflict if tensions with Israel blew up into a fully-fledged war.

The governments of eight European Union member states said Friday the situation in Syria should be re-evaluated to allow for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees back to their homeland.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday announced $1 billion in aid for Lebanon during a visit to the crisis-hit country and urged it to tackle illegal migration to the bloc.

The European Union has already agreed deals with Tunisia, Mauritania and other countries to stem flows of irregular migrants.

The European Union will offer economic aid to Lebanon when the European Commission and Cypriot presidents jointly visit Beirut on Thursday, a Cypriot official has said.

Cyprus has grown increasingly concerned at a sharp increase in the number of Syrian refugees making their way to the island. Lebanon, a mere 185 km away from Cyprus, hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The United Nations' refugee agency said Friday that Cypriot efforts at sea to stop numerous Syrian refugee-laden boats departing Lebanon from reaching the European Union-member island nation mustn't contravene international human rights laws or put passengers at risk.