Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces since the Gaza war broke out in October, announced its fighters had fired a barrage of rockets at Israel's north overnight.

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla paid his last respects to Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh at his funeral in Doha, Qatar, on Friday and called for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict during his visit.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne discussed the rising tension in the region by telephone with his US counterpart Antony Blinken, said a ministry spokesman.

Israel ally the United States said it would move warships and fighter jets to the region, while Western governments called on their citizens to leave Lebanon -- where the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is based -- and airlines cancelled flights.

Despite patchy internet Shaqoura offers a different side of the conflict to document what he calls "resilience and persistence" amidst the rubble of war-devastated Gaza: His blogs have attracted nearly half a million followers on Instagram, as well as donations from his fans. 

Haniyeh was laid to rest in Lusail, north of the capital Doha, following funeral prayers at the Gulf emirate's largest mosque attended by thousands of people.

Best known as an online retailer, Shein has opened pop-up stores across the world to try to reach a wider audience for its ultra-cheap fashions, mostly made in China.

The BTK communications authority said in a post on its website that "instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024", without adding further details.

Biden, who was joined on the call by Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, also emphasized the "ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region," the White House said in a statement.

"I can't tell you what this means. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a ceasefire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains," Blinken said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia in Singapore.

"That was violence, a murder that is intolerable, and took place in the sovereign area of Iran," he said. "I suppose all, including Indonesia, strongly condemn violence and murder like that."

"The criminal assassination of leader Haniyeh in the heart of the Iranian capital is a watershed and dangerous event that takes the war to new levels and will have enormous consequences for the entire region," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, whose fighters are engaged in fierce battles with Israeli troops in Gaza, said in a statement.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political leadership that included Haniyeh, said the killing was a "dangerous escalation", adding that it was "a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law".

The strike -- which Iraqi sources said left at least four people dead -- was the first by American forces in Iraq since February, when the US military said it killed a pro-Iran commander who was involved in attacks on the country's troops.

But despite the rhetoric, he was seen by many diplomats as a moderate compared to the more hardline members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza. 

The Islamist faction mourned the death of Haniyeh, who it said was killed in "a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran".

Since the start of the Gaza war, Shukr directed Hezbollah's attacks on Israel, the military said.

The dispute, dating back to 1975, pits Morocco, which says the Western Sahara is its territory, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which says it is an independent state.

Cranes and heavy equipment seem to be everywhere in the North African kingdom as it aims to reposition itself as the continent's global investment and trade hub.

"Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region," said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. 

"If they do 'assassinate President Trump,' which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth — If that does not happen, American Leaders will be considered 'gutless' cowards!" he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"Palestinian children are slaughtered every day by the Tel Aviv butcher, and in the face of all these crimes, the American government and Congress are welcoming this executioner with applause," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in a post on X.

Indonesia has hailed the Beijing-led declaration on unity among Palestinian factions as a step in the right direction while Israel immediately blasted the deal, though analysts are yet to determine its significance.

Netanyahu will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris -- the likely new Democratic presidential nominee -- at the White House on Thursday, one day after he gave a speech to the US Congress vowing "total victory" against Hamas. 

The Foreign Ministry has condemned efforts by the Israeli parliament to label United Nations relief agency UNRWA, the main provider of aid for Palestinians in Gaza, a terrorist organization.

Any involvement by the Islamist militant group in the post-war governance of Gaza is anathema to the United States as well as Israel. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk, Fatah envoy Mahmud al-Aloul and emissaries from 12 other Palestinian groups, said they had agreed to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern post-war Gaza.

Indonesia said on Monday that it would use the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion against Israeli presence in occupied Palestinian territories as a “momentum” to intensify its pro-Palestine diplomacy, amid worries that the nonbinding ruling will do little to remedy the conflict.

Indonesia called on Israel on Sunday to end its “unlawful presence” in the occupied Palestinian territories immediately and cease any activities to expand Israeli settlements there, in the wake of a historic ruling by the United Nations’ top court.

Indonesia has welcomed a recent ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestine, with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi calling the decision a significant affirmation that international law is on Palestine’s side.