Italy, France, Britain and Germany urged Israel on Friday to stop expanding its settlements in the West Bank, condemning settler violence and warning construction companies not to bid for tenders.

"We call on the government of Israel to end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces," said the countries in a joint statement, noting that violence against Palestinians by settlers was at "unprecedented levels".

Lebanon's military said Friday its soldiers were loyal to the institution after the U.S. announced sanctions that included an officer accused of sharing information with Hezbollah.

The sanctions came after the U.S. hosted three rounds of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel aimed at ending the war that began after Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 and determining the future of relations between the two countries.

Lebanese mother-of-two Hala Farah is collecting photos and videos to preserve the memory of her hometown which, like many others along the southern border, has been completely destroyed by Israeli forces.

Testimony from residents and officials, as well as satellite images and photographs taken by AFP journalists on both sides of the border, show widespread destruction in dozens of Lebanese towns and villages since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2.

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed six people on Friday, including two rescuers and a child, the Lebanese health ministry said, despite a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

In a statement, the ministry said that "six people were martyred" including two rescuers from the Risala Scouts association, one of them also working as a freelance photographer, and a Syrian girl in a strike on Deir Qanoun al-Nahr village. The association is linked with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement.

Iran's foreign ministry on Friday condemned what it called "illegal" U.S. sanctions on Tehran's ambassador-designate to Lebanon, according to a ministry statement.

The ministry "strongly condemned the illegal and unjustified action by the U.S. Treasury Department in sanctioning Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani, Iran's designated ambassador to Beirut," the statement said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on Thursday of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan's army chief due to arrive in the Islamic republic for talks.

The expected visit by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan's foreign relations, comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the "borderline" between a deal and renewed strikes.

Nine people were wounded in an Israeli strike on Thursday that damaged a hospital in the country's south, where Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire despite a ceasefire.

In a statement, the Lebanese health ministry strongly denounced the strike, which "inflicted serious damage on the Tibnin public hospital" and left "nine people wounded, including seven members of the hospital staff, five of them women".

A top UAE official denounced Iran's claim of control over Emirati waters in the blockaded Strait of Hormuz as a "pipe dream" Thursday, following an announcement by an Iranian body overseeing the strait.

"The regime is trying to establish a new reality born from a clear military defeat, but attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz or infringe on the UAE's maritime sovereignty are nothing but pipe dreams," said the United Arab Emirates' presidential advisor Anwar Gargash in a post on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed as "unacceptable" the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel, after an Israeli minister posted a video of them bound and forced to kneel.

"It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity," Meloni said in a statement, referring to the video posted by far-right national Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The UAE demanded on Wednesday that Iraq "immediately" prevent further attacks from its territory, following an accusation by the Emirates that a drone targeting a nuclear plant was launched from there.

The foreign ministry in a statement called on "Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory urgently and without conditions", saying there was a "need to address those threats promptly, immediately, and responsibly".