An Israeli airstrike on a West Bank cafe that the military said targeted Palestinian militants also killed a family of four, including two young children, relatives told The Associated Press on Friday.

The strike slammed into a three-story building in the Tulkarem refugee camp late Thursday, setting it on fire, destroying a popular cafe and killing at least 18 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry. It was the deadliest strike in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war nearly a year ago.

One of the most photographed events in the world is set to kick off Saturday with a mass ascension of color for the 52nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The nine-day gathering draws hundreds of thousands of spectators and pilots to New Mexico each fall for the rare opportunity to be within arm's reach as the giant balloons are unpacked and inflated. Propane burners roar and hundreds of the uniquely shaped balloons speckle the sky with vibrant colors.

With his major opponents imprisoned or left off the ballot, Tunisian President Kais Saied faces few obstacles to winning reelection on Sunday, five years after riding anti-establishment backlash to a first term.

The North African country's Oct. 6 presidential election is its third since protests led to the 2011 ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — the first autocrat toppled in the Arab Spring uprisings that also overthrew leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

Caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati is calling for a national dialogue between the country’s divided political groups to agree on who should become the country’s new president.

Lebanon’s presidency has been vacant since October 2022, when the six-year term of President Michel Aoun ended.

U.S.-arranged flights have brought about 250 Americans and their relatives out of Lebanon this week during escalated fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, while thousands of others still there face airstrikes and diminishing commercial flights.

In Washington, senior State Department and White House officials met Thursday with two top Arab American officials to discuss U.S. efforts to help American citizens leave Lebanon. The two leaders also separately met with officials from the Department of Homeland Security.

U.N. peacekeepers are staying in their positions on Lebanon's southern border despite Israel's request to vacate some areas before it launched its ground operation against Hezbollah, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Thursday.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the commander and liaison officers from the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, also are in constant contact with their counterparts in the Israeli and Lebanese militaries. He called that key to protecting the U.N.'s more than 10,000 peacekeepers.

The Israeli military said Friday that a strike in south Beirut the day before killed Mohammed Skafi, the head of Hezbollah’s communications division.

The military said in a statement that Skafi was “a senior Hezbollah terrorist who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000” and was “closely affiliated” with high-up Hezbollah officials.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Friday that an Israeli airstrike has cut a main highway linking Lebanon with Syria.

The agency gave no further details about Friday’s airstrike that led to the closure of a road near the Masnaa Border Crossing, from where tens of thousands of people fleeing war in Lebanon have crossed into Syria over the past two weeks. It’s the first time this major border crossing has been cut off since the beginning of the war.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Lebanon's capital Friday, official media said, as Israel intensifies its air strikes against the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

"An Iranian plane has landed at the Rafik Hariri International Airport with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on board," the Lebanese National News Agency said of the first visit by a top Iranian official since an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.

Japan on Thursday dispatched two Self Defense Force planes to prepare for a possible airlift of Japanese citizens from Lebanon.

Two C-2 transport aircraft are expected to arrive in Jordan and Greece on Friday, Japan NHK national television reported.