At least 164 people have died and 971 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Thursday, adding that rescue teams are rushing to the hardest-hit areas to free people trapped under rubble.

Wednesday evening's 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. The country's main airport was damaged and closed, while buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil's Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike targeting suspected Hezbollah militants who crossed into the so-called "security zone" it has created in southern Lebanon, the second such incident it reported within hours on Wednesday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the United States has not demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, a condition set by Lebanon in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

Lebanon has transferred 128 Syrian convicts to their home country, a Lebanese security source told AFP on Wednesday, the second batch of handovers under an agreement the two sides signed earlier this year.

Heavy equipment operator Bassam Khalil's bulldozers and excavators are in high demand in south Lebanon's Tyre these days, as the seaside city tries to pick up the pieces from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

An Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed two people on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, a day after Israeli gunfire killed two people which Hezbollah called a "violation" of a truce between the two sides.

The deal between Iran and the United States to end the Middle East war is "America's declaration of defeat", Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiating team, said on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington would not accept Iranian tolls or fees on the Strait of Hormuz, as disputes over the vital waterway, nuclear inspections, and missiles exposed early strains in negotiations to end the Middle East war.

Washington and Tehran have signed a preliminary agreement to halt the conflict and concluded a first round of talks in Switzerland, opening a 60-day negotiation period on sanctions relief, Iran's nuclear program and the future of Hormuz.

The U.S. Senate passed a largely symbolic resolution Tuesday calling for an end to President Donald Trump's war with Iran, delivering a fresh rebuke to the White House as it tries to negotiate a lasting settlement with Tehran.

The House-passed measure, adopted by the Senate in a 50-48 vote, directs Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes military action.

Donald Trump said he ordered an investigation into major oil companies over high gasoline prices as the U.S. leader faces criticism over the impact of the Mideast war.