BANGKOK, Oct 31 — Thailand has expressed deep concern over the escalation of armed conflict in the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and surrounding areas, which has resulted in a significant loss of life and property among innocent civilians on all sides.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — The deployment of the Malaysian Battalion (Malbatt) for peacekeeping missions in South Lebanon will continue, with Malbatt 850-12, scheduled to be carried out in stages, from Wednesday (November 6) to November 18.

BEIRUT, Oct 29 — Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has elected deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on Beirut's southern suburb over a month ago.

BEIRUT, Oct 29 — Israel’s military campaign in southern Lebanon has caused vast destruction in more than a dozen border towns and villages, reducing many of them to clusters of grey craters, according to satellite imagery provided to Reuters by Planet Labs Inc.

KAZAN, Russia, Oct 25 — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told BRICS leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the world needed peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan.

ISTANBUL, Oct 24 — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that he regrets Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, expressing disappointment that the call for a 21-day pause in hostilities, made jointly with US President Joe Biden, has not yet been considered, Anadolu Agency reported.

TEHRAN, Oct 24 — The head of Lebanon’s Doctors Syndicate has declared that five hospitals have been completely knocked out of service as a result of the Israeli regime’s attacks on the Arab country, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

REMBAU, Oct 23 — The government is prepared with an evacuation plan should the United Nations (UN) decide to withdraw peacekeeping forces, including the Malaysian Battalion (MALBATT) 850-11, from Lebanon following heightened tensions in the country.

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Oct 22 — United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, in the first big US push for a Middle East ceasefire since Israel killed the leader of Hamas last week — and the last attempt before a presidential election that could upend US policy.

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT, Oct 21 — United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make another push for a ceasefire when he heads to the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, seeking to kick-start negotiations to end the Gaza war and also defuse the spillover conflict in Lebanon.

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT/CAIRO, Oct 20 — Israel has struck what it said were Hezbollah arms facilities in southern Beirut on Saturday after the Lebanese armed group fired rockets into northern Israel, while a spokesman said a drone was launched at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — The Malaysian Battalion (Malbatt) 850-11 stationed in southern Lebanon is safe, with no casualties or damage to assets following the recent Israeli attacks on the country.

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 — World Bank president Ajay Banga yesterday warned a significant widening of the Israel-Gaza war could lead to major impacts on the global economy, calling the steep loss of civilian lives in the region “unconscionable”.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15 — The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday expressed strong concern after several of its peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon came under fire amid clashes between the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

JERUSALEM/DUBAI, Oct 14 — Israel expanded its targets in its war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 18 people in an airstrike on the Christian-majority town of Aitou in the north, said the Lebanese Red Cross.

BEIRUT, Oct 14 — The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since last October rose to 2,306, with 10,698 others injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday.

PAPHOS, Cyprus, Oct 12 — French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reiterated his call for an end to arms exports to the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, adding it was the sole means at hand to end the two conflicts pitting Israel against Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.

GENEVA, Oct 11 — Lebanon is grappling with a "devastating and indescribable" humanitarian crisis as Israel continues its air and ground attacks, according to the medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Lebanon, Anadolu Agency reported.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Malaysia and Kuwait have agreed that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine and southern Lebanon, should be resolved through peaceful negotiations and in adherence to the resolutions set by the United Nations (UN).

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Oct 7 — Israel bombed targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip on Sunday ahead of the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attacks that sparked its war, as Israel's defence minister declared all options were open for retaliation against arch-enemy Iran.