Iran and its influence in the Middle East were high on the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron during his first trip abroad in office.

An explosion at an arms depot in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday killed three people and wounded 18, medical officials said.

The cause of the early morning blast at the warehouse, located at a popular market in the town of Lawdar, was not immediately known. The town is controlled by forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government.

U.S. officials have said that the bullet that killed veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was likely fired from an Israeli position. But they said it was too badly damaged to reach an absolute determination, and that there is "no reason to believe" she was deliberately targeted.

State Department spokesman Ned Price, announcing the results of the probe, said "independent, third-party examiners" had undertaken an "extremely detailed forensic analysis" of the bullet that killed her after the Palestinian Authority handed it over to them.

The Lebanese government “needs to rein in Hezbollah” or else Israel “will be forced to do so,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned on Tuesday, as he headed to France for an official visit.

The annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, will start on Wednesday with one million vaccinated Muslims from around the world allowed to take part this year.

In 2019, some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world participated.

Libyans angered by rising prices, chronic power cuts and political deadlock planned further demonstrations Monday after a night of angry protests across the capital. 

Masked youths set alight car tires and blocked roads including a major coastal highway between central Tripoli and its western suburbs, but security forces did not intervene.

White-robed worshippers from across the world have packed the streets of Mecca as Islam's holiest city prepares to host the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic.

Banners welcoming the faithful, including the first international visitors since 2019, festooned squares and alleys, while armed security forces patrolled the ancient city, birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed.

The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet is starting to offer rewards for information that could help sailors intercept weapons, drugs and other illicit shipments across the region amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program and Tehran's arming of Yemen's Houthi rebels.

While avoiding directly mentioning Iran, the 5th Fleet's decision to offer cash and other goods for actionable intelligence in the Persian Gulf and other strategic waterways may increase pressure on the flow of weapons to the Houthis as a shaky cease-fire still holds in Yemen.

Libya's rival leaders are under growing street pressure after protesters stormed parliament as anger exploded over deteriorating living conditions and political deadlock.

An Israeli airstrike targeted suspected Hezbollah posts in Syria's coastal Tartus province on Saturday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.