A top Iranian official pledged his country’s unwavering support for Lebanon after talks Friday with Lebanese leaders on the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel is sending troops into villages farther from its border, in what some former senior security officials worry could turn into a war of attrition.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israel to end its military operations in Gaza, citing the dire humanitarian crisis. Blinken faces scrutiny over past claims to Congress, with critics accusing the Biden administration of enabling aid restrictions in violation of US laws.

A US deadline for Israel to improve getting humanitarian aid into Gaza has expired, with the Biden administration assessing that Israel is not blocking aid and so is not violating US law governing foreign military assistance.

The Biden administration says "some progress" by Israel to address civilian suffering in Gaza is enough to keep American weapons flowing.

Fifteen people were killed in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Damascus on Thursday, Syrian state media reported, and Israel said the attacks targeted military sites and the headquarters of the Islamic Jihad group.

Syria’s state news agency says Israel has carried out two airstrikes on a western neighborhood of Damascus and one of the capital’s suburbs.

Israel will attack any attempt to bring weapons to Hezbollah from Syria, Israel's military spokesperson said on Thursday. "We are identifying rockets and other weapons that Hezbollah is launching at Israeli territory that were manufactured in Syria,

Syria is likely also to continue to be a hunting ground for Israeli air power working its way down the long list of Hezbollah and Iranian targets in the country.