Syrian rebel chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, whose fighters have launched a lightning offensive, on Thursday urged Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of neighboring Iraq to keep his country distant from Syria's war.

Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in efforts to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war following a brief suspension, a source with knowledge of the talks said Thursday.

The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after nearly 14 months of war.

Israel’s army said it had struck a launcher in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, one week after the start of a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"A launcher that was identified in Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon, violating the agreements between Israel and Lebanon and posing a threat to the State of Israel, was struck by the (Israeli Air Force)," the military said in a statement, adding it had also "dismantled weapons" in three locations of southern Lebanon.

Syrian insurgents said Thursday they have entered parts of the central city of Hama after three days of intense clashes with government forces on its outskirts, part of an ongoing offensive in which they seized Syria's largest city of Aleppo.

Syrian state media confirmed violent clashes between government forces and opposition gunmen on the eastern outskirts of Hama city but denied that the insurgents had breached it. Hama is one of the few cities that remained under full government control during Syria's conflict, which broke out in March 2011. Its capture would be a major setback for President Bashar Assad.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Thursday arrived at the Elysée Palace to submit his resignation and that of his government to President Emmanuel Macron after losing a vote of no confidence in parliament the day earlier.

Barnier's convoy pulled into the Elysée just after 0900 GMT for the formality, an AFP correspondent said, with the outgoing premier constitutionally obliged to offer to step down after losing the no-confidence vote.

Near gaping holes where walls used to be, workers at a center for women and children in south Beirut assess the damage after a nearby Israeli strike devastated their facility.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the ceasefire in Lebanon was "holding" despite a series of incidents between Israel and Iran-backed militants Hezbollah.

"The ceasefire is holding, and we're using the mechanism that was established when any concerns have arisen about any alleged or purported violations," Blinken told journalists on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels.

Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad on Wednesday said the toll in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah had reached 4,047 dead, most of them since September.

"Until now... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded," Abiad told reporters a week after a ceasefire took effect. Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he said, adding that "we believe the real number may be higher" due to unrecorded deaths.

Russia, Iran and Turkey are in "close contact" over the conflict in Syria, Moscow said on Wednesday, after a shock offensive has seen Islamist-led rebels capture the second city of Aleppo.

"The foreign ministers of the three guarantor countries -- Russia, Iran and Turkey -- are in close contact with each other," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Tuesday that if a ceasefire reached last week collapses, Israel will target the Lebanese state itself and will no longer differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah.

"If we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper and... there will be no immunity for the state of Lebanon," he said during a tour of Israel’s northern border, adding that "until now, we made a distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah... it will no longer be the case".