Authorities have evacuated 79 Indonesian citizens and a foreigner married to one of the evacuees from Lebanon amid intensifying Israeli forces' military offensive in the Middle Eastern country.

Suspicion between nations and exchanges of jabs were on display at the Vientiane summit, which had sought to encourage dialogue and de-escalation amid numerous geopolitical conflicts.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Indonesian representatives at the United Nations have urged Israeli forces and other parties in the conflict in Lebanon to respect the inviolability, safety and security of UN peacekeeping forces.

The group, founded in 1956, received the honour "for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again".

Israel has vowed to launch a "deadly, precise, and surprising" attack on Iran in retaliation for its second-ever direct strike on Israeli territory.

"The destructive character of US actions in this part of the world is obvious," Lavrov told reporters at an East Asia Summit in Laos.

In Lebanon's south, two United Nations peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force's main headquarters in Naqoura, prompting the UN to say its personnel were facing increasing danger.

The usually tranquil, temple-lined streets of the landlocked nation's capital Vientiane have been briefly transformed into a hub of global diplomacy for the annual East Asia Summit, on the heels of meetings of the 10-country ASEAN regional bloc.

Andrea Tenenti said Israeli attacks on the peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL with tank shells and small arms fire had left two wounded members in hospital and knocked out some of their monitoring capabilities on Wednesday and Thursday. 

UNIFIL, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in south Lebanon, has called for a ceasefire since an escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Sept. 23, after a year of cross-border fire.

"We remain concerned about China's increasingly dangerous and unlawful actions on the South and East China Seas, which have injured people, harmed vessels from ASEAN nations and contradict commitments to peaceful resolution of disputes," Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Laos.

Han, 53, was honoured "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life," the Swedish Academy said.

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin on Thursday met with China in high-level ASEAN talks in Vientiane, calling for stability and increased communication in regard to the South China Sea as pressure continues to mount on the organization to respond to Beijing’s activities in the disputed waters.

Describing a situation that has "gone from bad, to worse, to horrific", UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews said more than three million people have been displaced by fighting in the Southeast Asian nation in as many years.

The Republican ex-president and Democratic vice president, locked in an excruciatingly close White House battle, have faced off just once, in September.

“It’s harmful to those that need help,” Biden said of misinformation on the storm and the government's response.

With the storm coming ashore before high tide, Governor Ron DeSantis said he hoped the west coast of Florida could avoid the worst of the predicted storm surge.

Yoon and Ishiba, in their first phone call last week, agreed to forge a united response together with the United States to counter North Korea's threats.

The ASEAN leaders on Wednesday repeated their longstanding calls for restraint and respect for international law, according to a draft summit chairman's statement.

Bearing six-liter bottles of water on their shoulders, members of Colombia's Indigenous Yagua community tramp along the dried-up riverbed of a branch of the mighty Amazon.

The United States on Wednesday said Israel must avoid any Gaza-like military action in Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned it risked "destruction" like that in the Palestinian territory.

The crisis dominated the first day of the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, where the disputed South China Sea will also be high on the agenda.

As more extreme rainfall hits South Asia leading to floods that do not recognize national borders, regional countries must work together more to combat the mutual threat, experts said.

Leaders from Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement discussed plans for cooperation after the war in Gaza in a new round of talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters.

“This is the last summit to be attended by the administration of President Joko Widodo,” Ma’ruf said in a speech at the 44th ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, as quoted in a statement issued by the vice presidential office.

Air France said Wednesday it had launched an inquiry into how a jet on a Paris-Dubai flight went over Iraq as Iranian missiles taking part in an attack on Israel went through the same airspace.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has recovered after successfully completing medical tests for lung inflammation on Wednesday, the state news agency (SPA) said, citing the royal court.