The Gulf Cooperation Council reaffirmed its support for Lebanon during what it said was a "critical stage" and called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after holding an extraordinary ministerial meeting in Doha.
In a statement, the council condemned the escalation of conflict in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories, calling on all involved parties to exercise self-restraint and refrain from violence.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians since October 7, when Hamas gunmen led an incursion into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israel and Gaza health authorities.
A suspected gas explosion at a department store in the central Taiwanese city of Taichung killed at least four people and injured 24 others on Thursday, the fire department said.
US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday, and Trump ordered top US officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
Israel's military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to release more Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire breaks down.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire in Gaza would end and the military would resume fighting Hamas until it was defeated if the Palestinian group did not release hostages by midday Saturday.
Officials from Bangladesh's former government and security apparatus systematically committed serious human rights violations against protesters staging mass demonstrations last summer, the UN human rights chief said on Wednesday.