Middle East tensions soared Saturday as Iran and its allies readied their response to the assassination of Hamas's political leader, blamed on Israel, spurring fears of a regional war.
Israel ally the United States said it would move warships and fighter jets to the region, while Western governments called on their citizens to leave Lebanon -- where the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is based -- and airlines cancelled flights.
The killing this week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, hours after the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah's military chief in Beirut, has triggered vows of vengeance from Iran and the so-called "axis of resistance".
Iran-backed groups from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria have already been drawn into the nearly 10-month war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
US, France call for 'utmost restraint' in Middle East
The French and US foreign ministers called on all sides in the Middle East "to exercise the utmost restraint" to prevent a regional conflict, France's foreign ministry said Saturday.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne discussed the rising tension in the region by telephone with his US counterpart Antony Blinken, said a ministry spokesman.
"They agreed to continue to call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint to prevent any regional conflagration that would have devastating consequences for the countries in the region", he added.
They will also continue their joint efforts for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, the spokesman added.
The meeting comes amid growing concern took place at a time when concerns about a possible military escalation in the Middle East, with Iran and its allies stepping up their threats against Israel.
Hezbollah says has launched 'dozens' of rockets at Israel
Hezbollah said Saturday it had launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at Israel, the latest in a series of attacks it says is in support of the Palestinian people.
The Iran-backed group said its latest attack, on Beit Hillel in northern Israel, was in response to Israel's attacks on Kfar Kela and Deir Siriane in Lebanon which, it said, had injured civilians there.
Iran, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah blamed Israel for the death in Tehran Wednesday of the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Ismail Haniyeh.
His assassination came just hours after a strike claimed by Israel killed the Lebanese movement's military chief, Fouad Chokr, on Tuesday evening near Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was at a "very high level" of preparation for any scenario, "both defensive and offensive".
Israel on Saturday again traded fire with Hezbollah, carried out a deadly raid in the occupied West Bank, and struck a school compound in Gaza City in an attack that the Hamas-ruled territory's civil defence agency said killed at least 17 people.
Numerous schools turned into displacement shelters have been hit across Gaza in recent weeks, with Israel insisting the facilities had been used by militants. Hamas denied using civilian infrastructure for military activities.
Haniyeh was buried on Friday in Qatar, where he had been based. Israel, accused by Hamas, Iran and others of carrying out the attack, has not directly commented on it.
Iran said on Saturday it expects Hezbollah to hit deeper inside Israel and no longer be confined to military targets.
The Pentagon said it was bolstering its military presence in the Middle East to protect US personnel and defend Israel.
It said an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln would be deployed, as well as additional ballistic missile defence-capable cruisers and destroyers and a new fighter squadron.
US President Joe Biden, at his beach home in Delaware, was asked by reporters if he thought Iran would stand down.
"I hope so," he said. "I don't know."
Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the northern Israeli settlement of Beit Hillel.
They said it was in response to an Israeli attack on Kfar Kela and Deir Siriane in southern Lebanon which, it said, had injured civilians.
Earlier Saturday, Hezbollah announced the deaths of two of its fighters, including a 17-year-old from Deir Siriane.
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In Beirut, 20-year-old student Diana Abu Aasel told AFP she feared "something bad will happen to my family and friends.
"If there is war, I don't think I will be able to bear staying" in Lebanon, she said.
Crowds of thousands rallied Saturday in Morocco, Jordan and Turkey to denounce Haniyeh's killing and show solidarity with Palestinians, AFP correspondents reported.
Haniyeh's killing is among a series of attacks since April that have heightened fears of a regional conflagration.
His death came hours after Israel struck south Beirut, killing Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.
Both Britain and the United States on Satuday urged their citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its unprecedented October 7 attack which triggered war in Gaza and resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,550 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
Haniyeh was Hamas's lead negotiator in efforts to end the war. His killing raised questions about the continued viability of efforts by Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators to broker a truce and exchange of hostages and prisoners.
Hamas officials but also some analysts and protesters in Israel have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war to safeguard his ruling hard-right coalition.
Protesters in several Israeli cities Saturday renewed their calls for a hostage-release deal.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately with his French and British counterparts on Saturday about the situation in the Middle East, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Blinken, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne all agreed on the need for restraint on all sides in the region, Miller said in a statement.
Violence has also surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinian official sources said two Israeli air strikes killed nine people in the north of the territory Saturday.
The military said it had "eliminated terrorist cells".
The war in Gaza has caused widespread destruction and displaced almost the entire population of the territory where, the UN said on Friday, public health conditions "continue to deteriorate".
It said nearly 40,000 cases of Hepatitis A, spread by contaminated food and water, have been reported since the war began.
Hezbollah has been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since October, saying it is acting in support of Hamas.
Several airlines have suspended flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv.
Flights to Beirut by Air France and low-cost carrier Transavia France will remain halted until at least Tuesday, their parent company said Saturday.
Turkish Airlines on Saturday cancelled its night-time flights to Tehran for the second night running, AFP correspondents noted.
Israel strike kills 17 at school compound: Gaza officials
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli bombardment of a school compound in Gaza City killed at least 17 people Saturday, as Israel's military reported it had hit a Hamas command centre.
"There are 17 martyrs and several wounded due to Israeli shelling on Hamama school," the agency said in a statement, updating an earlier toll of 10 killed.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it had hit a Hamas command and control centre located inside the compound.
Earlier, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the compound was housing Palestinians displaced from their homes in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants.
Israel's military said the compound was being used by Hamas militants to manufacture weapons, adding it was a "hiding place for Hamas terrorists".
It has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilian facilities as command and control centres or to hide their commanders and militants. The Palestinian group denies the accusation.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, which resulted in the death of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held hostage in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel's military campaign has killed at least 39,550 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Thousands gather in Turkey following death of Hamas leader
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul on Saturday evening to denounce the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran earlier this week.
Haniyeh was buried on Friday in Qatar, where he had been based. Israel, accused by Hamas, Iran and others of the attack, has not directly commented on it.
Gathered at the call of several conservative and pro-government associations, demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags, as well as portraits of Haniyeh in front of the former Byzantine basilica Hagia Sophia.
"Israel has murdered an important hero in a way that suits it: treacherously," said Bilal Erdogan, the son of the Turkish head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He added: "Haniyeh had called on millions of people to demonstrate (for Gaza). We respect his last wish."
On Wednesday, the Turkish leader condemned the "perfidious assassination" of his "brother" Haniyeh, which he said was the work of "Zionist barbarity".
Haniyeh, who frequently resided in Turkey before the war in Gaza, was received in Istanbul in April by Erdogan, a fervent supporter of Hamas, which he describes as a "liberation movement".
Israel, the United States, the European Union and others have designated the Palestinian Islamist movement as a terrorist organisation.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its unprecedented October 7 attack which triggered the war in Gaza and resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,550 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.