Syrian singer Assala Nasri has made a triumphant return to Damascus with a sold-out concert following 15 years of exile due to her opposition to ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Thousands of fans welcomed the 57-year-old, known mononymously as Assala, at a venue in the Syrian capital where she bowed and opened the show with songs hailing the Syrian people.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday, as Paris hosted security talks to drum up international support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army that Lebanon's army is "indispensable" for bringing stability to the country.

Macron said that the talks aimed to "strengthen Lebanon's sovereignty and enable it to fully ensure its security", after years during which political factions, such as Hezbollah, wielded greater authority than the Lebanese state.

Israeli forces on Friday seized control of a position established by the Lebanese Army on the outskirts of the southern town of Deir Mimas following the withdrawal of the Lebanese troops, Al-Jadeed TV said.

The Israeli army had earlier hurled six stun grenades at the entrance of Deir Mimas, demanding that the Lebanese Army remove the checkpoint from the area and arguing that it lies within the Israeli-designated Yellow Zone.

A tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, causing a fire that was extinguished, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

"The CSO of a vessel has reported a tanker being hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire onboard which has since been extinguished," the maritime monitor said, adding that the crew were safe, although the environmental impact of the attack was "unconfirmed".

Lebanon's judiciary has accused 14 Lebanese and Syrians, including a Hezbollah member and an Assad-era Syria officer, of forming and training groups to launch attacks in Syria, a judicial official said Thursday.

Earlier this month, Lebanese authorities arrested a group including a former Syrian intelligence officer and several accomplices who allegedly planned attacks against the forces of Syria's new government and received training from Iran-backed Hezbollah. The group has denied the allegation.

Saudi Arabia's civil defense agency on Thursday said one person was killed when shrapnel from an intercepted Houthi drone crashed down over Taif governorate that lies east of Mecca.

"The fall of shrapnel from a downed drone in Taif governorate resulted in one death, two injuries, and material damage to several buildings and vehicles," the agency said in a statement posted on social media, adding that the person killed was a Yemeni national.

The United States imposing fresh sanctions on Russia will complicate efforts to broker peace with Ukraine, the Kremlin said Thursday, a day after the U.S. Congress approved legislation to pressure Moscow over its war.

"Of course, the imposition of any further sanctions by the U.S. will definitely complicate the search for, and efforts towards, a peaceful resolution in Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Palestinian Authority on Thursday slammed a decision by the United States to refuse visas for its officials to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week, a move which includes President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry called it "an unjustified measure that runs counter to efforts to rebuild trust, develop Palestinian–U.S. relations, and create the necessary political climate for implementing the two-state solution and achieving peace and stability".

The leaders of France, Lebanon and Jordan on Thursday met in Paris to discuss international support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army and the creation of a new force to succeed a longstanding U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

The talks discussed intensifying international efforts to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable de-escalation and restore regional stability, the Lebanese presidency said.

Lebanon on Wednesday returned to Egypt dozens of pharaonic artefacts that had been seized from the Beirut port years earlier.

"Thirty-seven antiquities... were seized from Beirut port in 2020, having arrived from an Arab port," Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh said during a handover ceremony at the Beirut national museum.