- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli troops in Lebanon -

Hezbollah said Saturday it had targeted troops in northern Israel with a drone in response to repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite an ongoing truce between the two sides.

It also announced attacks on Israeli military targets inside Lebanon using rockets and drones.

An Israeli military statement reported "several" explosive drone launches by Hezbollah into Israeli territory, saying one army reservist had been severely wounded.

- Deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon -

Lebanese officials reported eight people killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon Saturday, with more raids targeting a highway south of Beirut outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds and far from the centre of ongoing fighting.

Lebanese official media reported a new Israeli strike outside Beirut, moments after two strikes on a highway linking the capital to the country's south.

The fresh attacks came in spite of a three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that has done little to halt daily exchanges of fire, mostly in south Lebanon.

- Iran keeps US waiting -

Iran questioned the seriousness of US diplomacy after naval clashes in the Gulf, and kept Washington waiting on its response to the latest American proposal for a deal to extend the truce and launch peace talks.

On Saturday, there was no public sign of Iran's reply to the proposal, despite US President Donald Trump saying late Friday he expected to receive it during Friday night.

- EU appeal over South Lebanon -

European Union crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib on Saturday urged increased humanitarian access in south Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have maintained hostilities despite the ceasefire.

"Humanitarian aid is ready, but too often it cannot reach those who need it most," Lahbib told journalists on the second day of her visit to Lebanon, ahead of an expected EU aid delivery.

- UK sends warship -

The UK said it would send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping in the key Strait of Hormuz.

The mission is to be co-led by Britain and France, which have previously emphasised it would be separate from the US war deployment in the region.

- Bahrain arrests -

Bahrain's interior ministry said security services dismantled an organisation accused of links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and arrested 41 of its suspected members.

Sunni-ruled Bahrain, which has a large Shia population and houses a major US military base, was hard-hit by Iranian attacks on the Gulf.

- Iran to go to World Cup -

Iran's football federation said its men's national team would take part in the 2026 World Cup this summer, but demanded that joint hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions amid the Middle East war.

They include visas being granted; respect for the national team's staff, Iran's flag and national anthem; as well as demands for high security at airports, hotels and routes to the stadiums where they will play.

- Seafarers' anguish -

Many of the thousands of seafarers stuck on board ships bottled up in the Gulf for more than two months are traumatised by drones and missiles and face grave mental suffering, maritime charities warn.

"They see drones flying, they see missiles flying, and then we see instances where the ships get hit," said Gavin Lim, head of the Crisis Response Network for the Sailors' Society, a UK-based seafarers' charity.