In Jerusalem's Old City, nearly all souvenir shops are closed. In Haifa's flea market, forlorn merchants polish their wares on empty streets. Airlines are canceling flights, businesses are failing and luxury hotels are half empty.

Nearly 11 months into the war with Hamas, Israel's economy is struggling as the country's leaders grind ahead with an offensive in Gaza that shows no signs of ending and threatens to escalate into a wider conflict.

Polio vaccines for more than 1 million people have been delivered to Gaza, Israel's military said Sunday, after the first confirmed case of the disease in the territory in a quarter-century.

It was not immediately clear how, or how quickly, the more than 25,000 vials of vaccine would be distributed in Gaza, where ongoing fighting and unrest have challenged humanitarian efforts during more than 10 months of war.

Iran’s foreign minister again has referenced his country’s planned retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, but called for restraint "to stop the cycle of military actions in the region," including in Lebanon.

Abbas Araghchi said late Sunday he made the remark in a conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani by telephone.

Britain on Sunday called for restraint in the Middle East, after the largest clashes between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza.

"Further escalation in the Middle East must be avoided at all costs," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted on X, following a call with Israel's minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Sunday hailed strikes by Lebanon's Hezbollah against Israel, calling it a "strong and focused response".

"We emphasize that this strong and focused response, which struck deep inside the Zionist entity, is a slap in the face" for the Israeli government, Hamas said in a statement after Hezbollah said it launched a large-scale operation using rockets and drones.

The United States said its commitment to Israel's defense was ironclad and that it was "postured" to support its ally after the Israeli military said Sunday it had launched strikes in Lebanon to prevent a major attack by Hezbollah.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant about Israel's defense against attacks by the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels praised attacks by Lebanon's Hezbollah on Israel Sunday and renewed threats to launch their own attack in response to Israeli strikes on a port in Yemen.

"We congratulate Hezbollah and its Secretary-General on the great and courageous attack carried out by the resistance this morning against the Israeli enemy," said a Houthi statement, adding that a response to July 20 strikes by Israel on the rebel-run Hodeida port "is definitely coming."

A senior Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group was sending a delegation to Cairo on Saturday but that they would not attend Gaza ceasefire talks in the Egyptian capital.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have for months tried to reach a deal to end more than 10 months of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.

A war monitor said Israeli air strikes on Syria targeting positions of the army and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah killed three Iran-backed fighters on Friday.

Talks in Cairo on reaching a Gaza truce have made progress, the White House said Friday, as it urged Israel and Hamas to move forward.

The White House confirmed that CIA chief William Burns and senior official Brett McGurk were taking part in discussions which started at a preliminary level Thursday evening.