Israeli or U.S. fighter jets intercepted an Iranian passenger plane over Syria on Thursday evening, according to Iranian, Arab and Lebanese media reports.

Several passengers were injured due to sudden changes in altitude during the incident and were evacuated upon landing in Beirut, the reports said.

Lebanon on Thursday confirmed 156 more COVID-19 cases, continuing a recent trend of high daily tallies.

The new cases raise the country’s overall tally since February 21 to 3,260 -- among them 43 deaths and 1,619 recoveries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held talks Thursday in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and lauded his call for Lebanon’s neutrality, Bkirki said.

Al-Rahi explained “the Lebanese and regional circumstances that encouraged him to propose the positive and effective neutrality project in order to rescue Lebanon, especially that historically Lebanon has been a neutral country,” a Bkirki statement said.

UK Minister for the Middle East James Cleverly has reflected on his virtual visit to Lebanon on Thursday through an opinion piece.

Below is the full text of the opinion piece as received by Naharnet:

UK Minister for the Middle East James Cleverly on Thursday held a “virtual visit” to Lebanon, where he discussed “shared economic and security goals,” the British embassy said.

The Minister heard how the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis is impacting the livelihoods of the Lebanese people, and how UK aid is supporting the most vulnerable.

Health Minister Hamad Hasan on Thursday warned that the coronavirus pandemic has reached a “dangerous juncture” in Lebanon.

“Negligence is unacceptable,” he cautioned during a visit to the Dahr al-Basheq government hospital, revealing that “161 coronavirus cases have been recorded until the moment today.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said it was "crucial" for Lebanon to implement much-needed reforms mainly for its ailing electricity sector, lamenting how officials "have not heard" the people's righteous calls since October 17 to fight corruption.

"I am in Lebanon at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron. I am here to assert France's continued support for Lebanon because we have special ties and a joint history," said Le Drian in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti.

Ex-PM Saad Hariri extended a thank you note on Thursday after the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi named a downtown street in al-Ain after Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Beirut and first held talks on Thursday with President Michel Aoun in Baabda to double down on a message that no international aid for Lebanon until the government carries out much-needed reforms.

Baabda sources told LBCI TV station that “Le Drian carried a message from President Emmanuel Macron affirming support for Lebanon and for bilateral relations between the two countries, and encouraging negotiations with the IMF.”

The Israeli army began on Thursday deploying military reinforcements on the border with Lebanon “in accordance with the situational assessment."

The Israeli army announced earlier that it had decided to send military reinforcements and deploy its forces on the border with Lebanon.