Turkish police have seized the third largest haul of cocaine in the country's history, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Thursday, as groups monitoring organized crime warned that the country was becoming an entry point for drugs reaching Europe.

Some 608 kilograms (1,340 pounds) of cocaine, most of it in liquid form, were confiscated in an operation across three provinces, Yerlikaya posted on the social media platform X. Nearly 830 kilograms (1,830 pounds) of precursor chemicals used to process the drug were also seized.

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro warned Wednesday that "Ramadan should be a time of peace and reflection, but the current situation along the Blue Line has deeply affected these notions."

"For the end of Ramadan on the occasion of Eid El Fitr, UNIFIL calls for a return to the cessation of hostilities; and a move towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict," Lázaro said in a statement marking Eid El Fitr.

A Lebanese man under U.S. sanctions for allegedly funnelling money from Iran to Palestinian militant group Hamas has been killed just outside Beirut, a security source told AFP on Wednesday.

Lebanon's caretaker interior minister has vowed to get tough on Syrians after several were arrested on suspicion of involvement in killing a political official, in a case that triggered uproar.

The Israeli army said early Wednesday it had carried out bombardments on positions of Lebanon's Hezbollah in Syria in a bid to thwart its "entrenchment" in the country.

While fighting Hamas militants in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly said it was also ready to confront Hezbollah and has stepped up strikes, including in Syria, in recent weeks.

The Lebanese Forces on Tuesday stressed that the probe into the murder of LF’s Jbeil coordinator Pascal Sleiman should be “clear, transparent, public, frank and accurate with its details and circumstances.”

Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Tuesday called on the Lebanese “not to compare the murder of Pascal Sleiman” to other cases, while urging citizens to “preserve the country’s security” and show “wisdom and patience” pending the end of investigations.

MP Nadim Gemayel of the Kataeb Party on Tuesday snapped back at Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah over the latter’s accusations regarding the side that started the 1975-1990 civil war.

The killing of Lebanese Forces Jbeil coordinator Pascal Sleiman by a Syrian gang has triggered a backlash against Syrian refugees

"The number of people arrested for kidnapping and killing... Sleiman, rose to seven, all of them Syrian," a judicial official told AFP.

Hezbollah and the Israeli army traded fire Tuesday as Hezbollah attacked several Israeli posts in northern Israel and in the occupied Shebaa Farms.

Hezbollah said it targeted a group of soldiers and a Merkava tank in the Dovev barracks and another group of soldiers in the Jal al-Alam post. The group also targeted the Zebdine barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms while Israeli artillery bombed Yaroun's forest.