France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Sunday labeled Israel's deepening military presence in Lebanon a "major mistake" and confirmed that Paris has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to address the escalating crisis.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israeli troops will remain stationed at Beaufort Castle following the recent capture of the strategic hilltop fortress in southern Lebanon.

An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon has killed nine Syrian refugees from the same family, including six children, according to Lebanese authorities.

Senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) have condemned the killing of Hussam Zaidan, a former correspondent for Iran’s al-Alam TV channel in Syria, in a recent Israeli strike in southern Lebanon.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has sharply condemned what he described as Israel’s “brutal attacks” on Beirut and Lebanon’s historic southern cities, warning that international silence is giving Israel a green light to continue the violence.

An Israeli airstrike has reportedly killed a former correspondent for Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam television channel along with three other civilians in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi issued an urgent plea on Thursday, calling for an immediate halt to intense Israeli airstrikes targeting the thousands-year-old city of Tyre.