- Israel expanding Lebanon 'buffer zone' -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country's forces were expanding a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon as the military pressed ahead with its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said in a video statement that the zone had so far prevented any infiltration towards the northern border, and is being expanded "to push the threat from anti-tank missiles further away and to establish a broader buffer zone".

- Oil prices slip on reports of US plan -

Oil prices tumbled and stock markets rallied on reports of a US plan to end the war with Iran -- which promptly rejected Washington's overtures, according to state media.

After nearly four weeks of conflict, investors jumped on signs that hostilities could be winding down, with the safe-haven dollar losing support.

However, analysts pointed out that the arrival of more US troops in the Middle East and fresh missile strikes between Iran and Israel suggested chances of escalation remained.

- Hormuz 'toll booth' legally risky -

Maritime trackers reported that a handful of vessels are still crossing daily through the Strait of Hormuz, which is guarded by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) -- most of them leaving the Gulf.

Leading shipping journal Lloyd's List reported that the handful of vessels still crossing daily through the strait were taking a new Iranian-approved route, dubbed the "Tehran Toll Booth".

At least one vetted vessel paid $2 million to use the corridor around Larak Island just off Iran's coast, it reported.

- Hezbollah: Talks are 'surrender' -

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said negotiating with Israel while under fire would amount to "surrender" for Lebanon, and urged the government to reverse its ban on the party's military activities.

"When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender," Qassem said, rejecting the Lebanese president's initiative to start direct negotiations "with an enemy that occupies our land and carries out daily attacks".

- Tehran rejects US peace plan -

Iranian state television, citing an unidentified senior official, reported that Iran had rejected a peace plan proposed by the United States to end the Middle East war.

"Iran has responded negatively to an American proposal aimed at ending the ongoing imposed war," the official said, according to the English-language broadcaster Press TV.

"The end of the war will occur when Iran decides it should end, not when Trump envisions its conclusion."

Earlier, two senior officials in Islamabad confirmed to AFP that the 15-point plan to stop the fighting, which has spread across the Gulf and Middle East, had been "conveyed to Iran via Pakistan".

- Lebanon must not become 'next Gaza' -

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said fighting between Israel and Hezbollah must not condemn Lebanon to the same fate as Gaza, the Palestinian territory devastated by years of conflict.

"The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon," Guterres told reporters, also saying the wider war in the Middle East is "out of control", as the United States, Israel and Iran have carried out strikes for more than three weeks.

- UN condemns Gulf strikes -

The UN Human Rights Council condemned Iran's "egregious attacks" on its Gulf neighbours, calling for full and swift "reparation" to all victims of its strikes.

The 47-member council backed a resolution condemning Tehran's actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz and demanding Iran immediately "cease all unprovoked attacks".

- Iraq to file UN complaint -

Iraq will submit a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council over strikes in its territory, the prime minister's office said, following an attack in the country's west that killed seven security personnel.

- Iran targets US carrier -

Iran fired cruise missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, the military said in a statement carried by state television, warning of further launches when the strike group's ships come in range.

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