The Lebanese parliament has extended its term by two years due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed the region into an escalating conflict, and Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon.

In a remarkable statement Monday afternoon, Lebanon called for direct talks with Israel on “permanent arrangements for security and stability on our borders,” while accusing the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah of betraying the country.

By Ahmad Al Kerdi and Alexander Cornwell BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Escalating hostilities have forced nearly 700,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon, a U.N. agency said on Monday, as the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah entered a second week.

Lebanon on Sunday said that Israeli overnight airstrikes on its capital, Beirut and places in southern Lebanon killed at least 15 people and wounded another 15. We are now closing the LIVE Blog

Israel carried out a commando raid in eastern Lebanon to search for clues about a navigator who went missing 40 years ago.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israel of illegally using white phosphorus in an attack on a residential area in southern Lebanon last week. In a report released on Monday, the organization said

In recent days, the attacks on northern Israel have not stopped. Anti-tank missile incidents targeting IDF forces along the northern border have also continued.

BEIRUT, March 7 (Reuters) - Israel's military carried out an airborne operation that dropped troops into a town in eastern Lebanon overnight, residents and Lebanese state media said on Saturday, as heavy Israeli strikes on the area left more than a dozen people dead.

Pope Leo XIV has expressed deep sympathy for the victims of recent bombings in the Middle East, including a Lebanese priest reportedly killed in an Israeli strike. The head of the Catholic Church,