A 5.5 earthquake hit central Syria late Monday, with the shock felt in neighboring Lebanon, official media in both countries said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday said that “diplomatic contacts are active in several directions to halt the Israeli threats against Lebanon and reach a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that he had wanted to attack Lebanon as early as October 11, 2023.

Hezbollah is “calculating its steps very well” as to its anticipated response to the Israeli airstrike on Dahieh that killed its military chief Fouad Shukur and six other people, an influential figure close to Hezbollah said.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is ready to "immediately call" for presidential consultations, if all concerned parties are ready to attend.

Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Monday, that he separates between the ongoing war with Israel and the election of a president and that he is "totally ready" to call for a dialogue or consultations but that other parties are playing for time by refusing his initiative.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has warned to retaliate "in a way that hasn't been done before" if Iran and Hezbollah attack Israel.

Gallant said Sunday, as he visited a military base, that Israel is fighting for its existence and that Iran and Hezbollah are threatening to harm Israel "in ways they have not done before."

Air France and its subsidiary Transavia France have again extended the suspension of their flights to Beirut, through Wednesday August 15, because of continued tensions in the region, the companies said on Monday.

The flights have been suspended since July 29 because of the "security situation in Lebanon" and their resumption "will be subject to a new assessment of the situation on the ground", Air France said in a statement.

Hezbollah launched overnight into Monday salvos of rockets "in response" to Israeli attacks on south Lebanon, targeting troops stationed in northern Israel.

"Approximately 30 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon toward the area of Kabri," the Israeli military said Monday, reporting no casualties and announcing retaliatory strikes.

There is major optimism as to the possibility of reaching a solution that would spare Lebanon a major war, a Lebanese government source told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper.

A highly informed Lebanese source meanwhile told the daily that, according to diplomatic messages received by Lebanon, “the issue is no longer about convincing Iran and Hezbollah not to retaliate, but rather about convincing (Israeli PM Benjamin) Netanyahu not to go to a preemptive strike in Lebanon and Iran.”

Hezbollah said it launched on Saturday explosive-laden drones at a north Israel army base following the killing of a Hamas commander in south Lebanon a day earlier.

Hezbollah fighters launched "squadrons of explosive-laden drones" at the Michve Alon base near the Galilee town of Safad "in response to the attack and assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy in the city of Sidon" on Friday, the group said in a statement.