United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that "it is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East," his spokesperson said in a statement."The Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond," Stephane Dujarric said.

Israel's "aggression" on Iran is an escalation against the region, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Friday.This is a developing story.

The IDF attacked a military structure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization and where terrorists were staying in southern Lebanon early Friday morning in Ayta ash Shab.IDF aircraft strikes Hezbollah infrastructure after detecting terrorists in the area of Ayta ash Shab, in southern Lebanon, April 19, 2024. (IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)Observers from the IDF's 869th Battalion recently identified the terrorists in the infrastructure, which was attacked using aircraft.This is a developing story.

Explosions were heard in Isfahan in central Iran, in the As-Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria, and in the Baghdad area and Babil Governorate of Iraq early Friday morning, according to initial reports.Illustrative image of an airstrike. (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)This is a developing story.

Russian air defence units intercepted 25 airborne targets early on Friday over southern Belgorod region, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.Gladkov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the main target was the city of Belgorod, but there were no injuries.Several private homes and other buildings sustained damage and a small fire in a storage area was quickly extinguished.

A Saudi official said the state is ready to accept a 'verbal agreement' from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would be willing to renew talks for Palestinian statehood as part of the normalization process between the two countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.The statement came amid reports that the Biden administration as been increasing pressure on both countries to come to a normalization agreement.