March 8 Alliance

The United States has announced economic sanctions against five individuals and seven entities based in Iran, China, and Hong Kong for their involvement in supplying components intended for the construction of drones for Iran, amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East.

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. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a meeting with the White House to discuss an upcoming ground operation in Rafah, situated in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. This move comes after Netanyahu scrapped a government delegation's trip to Washington following the U.S.'s decision to abstain from a UN Security Council vote urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Indirect negotiations aiming to halt the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon are set to commence soon, as per reports from Lebanese media outlets cited by DPA.

Israel launched rare strikes in southern Lebanon early Friday and pressed on with bombing targets in the Gaza Strip, marking a widening escalation in the region following violence this week at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site.

Heavy fighting claimed at least six lives and left dozens wounded in Lebanon's capital on Oct. 14 as an escalation of tensions around last year's massive portside explosion turned parts of Beirut into a war-zone.

Turkey conveyed its condolences to Lebanon on Oct. 14 after shootings in the capital Beirut left several demonstrators dead.

Expressing sorrow for the demonstrators killed by unidentified shooters during a protest held in Beirut on Thursday, a statement by the Foreign Ministry said it hoped those responsible would be caught and brought to justice as soon as possible.

The shooting took place near the place where the protest against the chief judge was being held in the investigation of last year's explosion in the port of Beirut, Reuters reports, citing an unnamed source from the army.

Armed clashes broke out in Beirut on Oct. 14 during a protest against the lead judge investigating last year's massive blast in the city's port, as tensions over the domestic probe boiled over.

Greek Cyprus' supreme court on May 29 upheld an order to extradite a suspected Hezbollah member to the U.S. on money laundering charges, official media said.

A five-judge bench unanimously dismissed an appeal against a decision by a lower court in September 2019 to extradite the man, identified only by his surname Diab, the Greek Cyprus News Agency said.