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.

When Mostafa Qadoura was a week old, an Israeli strike on his home in the Gaza Strip last October launched him and his crib into the air, sent shrapnel into his right eye that damaged it beyond repair and killed one of his brothers.

Mostafa was evacuated to Egypt weeks later when the hospital treating him came under siege by the Israeli army, and he has grown into a smiling and active 10-month-old with chubby cheeks. But he still faces huge challenges.

Leaders of an "Uncommitted" movement, which garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries across the nation in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, have been negotiating for weeks to secure a speaking slot for a Palestinian American at the Democratic National Convention this week.

The negotiations stalled late Wednesday when leaders with the Uncommitted National Movement say a Democratic National Committee official called and delivered a firm response: "The answer is no."

The Palestinians have said they are planning to introduce a U.N. General Assembly resolution in September enshrining the recent sweeping ruling by the U.N.'s top court that declared Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful — and setting a time frame for it to end.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the U.N. Security Council that the resolution, which would not be legally binding, is essential to spur the end of Israel's occupation.