Lebanon's judiciary has accused 14 Lebanese and Syrians, including a Hezbollah member and an Assad-era Syria officer, of forming and training groups to launch attacks in Syria, a judicial official said Thursday.

Earlier this month, Lebanese authorities arrested a group including a former Syrian intelligence officer and several accomplices who allegedly planned attacks against the forces of Syria's new government and received training from Iran-backed Hezbollah. The group has denied the allegation.

Saudi Arabia's civil defense agency on Thursday said one person was killed when shrapnel from an intercepted Houthi drone crashed down over Taif governorate that lies east of Mecca.

"The fall of shrapnel from a downed drone in Taif governorate resulted in one death, two injuries, and material damage to several buildings and vehicles," the agency said in a statement posted on social media, adding that the person killed was a Yemeni national.

The United States imposing fresh sanctions on Russia will complicate efforts to broker peace with Ukraine, the Kremlin said Thursday, a day after the U.S. Congress approved legislation to pressure Moscow over its war.

"Of course, the imposition of any further sanctions by the U.S. will definitely complicate the search for, and efforts towards, a peaceful resolution in Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Palestinian Authority on Thursday slammed a decision by the United States to refuse visas for its officials to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week, a move which includes President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry called it "an unjustified measure that runs counter to efforts to rebuild trust, develop Palestinian–U.S. relations, and create the necessary political climate for implementing the two-state solution and achieving peace and stability".

The leaders of France, Lebanon and Jordan on Thursday met in Paris to discuss international support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army and the creation of a new force to succeed a longstanding U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

The talks discussed intensifying international efforts to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable de-escalation and restore regional stability, the Lebanese presidency said.

Lebanon on Wednesday returned to Egypt dozens of pharaonic artefacts that had been seized from the Beirut port years earlier.

"Thirty-seven antiquities... were seized from Beirut port in 2020, having arrived from an Arab port," Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh said during a handover ceremony at the Beirut national museum.

Rescuers escorted by the Lebanese army on Wednesday discovered the bodies of two men killed in an Israeli strike a day earlier, state media reported.

The two men were reported missing on Tuesday after they were "targeted" by the Israeli military between Nabatieh and Zawtar al-Sharqiya, the official National News Agency (NNA) said.

Saudi strikes in Yemen killed one person and targeted three telecommunications towers on Thursday, according to Houthi media.

"Saudi enemy warplanes targeted three telecommunications towers" in Taiz province, while one civilian was killed and another injured in strikes on the town of Abs, Almasirah television said.

Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday said they targeted an Aramco facility in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu as well as an air base in southern Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi Arabia had launched more than 450 air strikes this week, and that in response, the Iran-backed group "targeted the Aramco facility in Yanbu with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones" causing fires, as well as "the Khamis Mushait air base".

Israel's defense minister said Wednesday it was only a matter of time before Israel resumes full-scale war in Gaza and moves to force out its two million Palestinians.

Israel Katz, who is known for outspoken remarks, was responding to criticism from another right-wing contender ahead of October 27 elections.