The U.S. military has rejected Iran's claim that it struck an unmanned American naval vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the report as a "total lie." The denial came a day after the United States said it had struck Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for Iran's launch of ballistic missiles at Navy warships.

State-run media in Tehran had said the American vessel was attempting to enter an area Iran considers restricted in the Strait of Hormuz. "The report came from Iranian state media and it's a total lie," said Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command. The strait is one of the world's most important chokepoints for oil shipping, with roughly a fifth of globally traded oil passing through it, which is why fighting there has drawn international attention.

The exchange followed a resumption of attacks last week after roughly a month of relative quiet. The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Although a ceasefire agreement was announced in June, intermittent fighting has continued, with both sides seeking to inflict military and economic damage as negotiations have collapsed.

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, declared that the era of "proportionate responses" is over, warning that Iran's retaliation from now on would be "faster, heavier and more painful."

Israeli Strikes Kill Four in Southern Lebanon

Israeli strikes killed at least four people in southern Lebanon on Sunday and leveled a hospital, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry, near an area that has become a flashpoint in the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Strikes on the Lebanese village of Arabsalim killed two people, the ministry said. Two others were killed in the city of Nabatiyeh, near a strategic hill that Israel said its forces seized control of on Thursday. At least 20 others were wounded in Sunday's strikes, including three children and five women. The strikes also destroyed an empty hospital, the ministry said, noting that residents have largely vacated the area because of the war.

The Israeli military said its latest strikes came in response to a drone attack launched earlier Sunday by Hezbollah against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. It also said Hezbollah had used the hospital as a command center. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect more than two months ago, and while fighting has subsided across much of Lebanon, low-level skirmishes and Israeli strikes continue. The fighting there is part of a broader pattern in which Israel and Iran have confronted each other through Tehran's network of allied militant groups across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Yemeni Government Recaptures Territory From Houthis

Yemen's internationally recognized government said Sunday that its forces have recaptured areas of two key provinces — Hodeida and Taiz, both along the country's western coast — from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Hodeida is home to Yemen's main port, a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and goods into the country.

On Saturday, the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the city of Taiz, striking close to civilian and police facilities, according to the country's SABA news agency.

Gaza Mourns More Than 110 Recovered From Rubble

Dozens of Palestinians gathered Sunday in Gaza City to mourn more than 110 people, including at least 70 children, whose remains were recovered from the rubble. Rescue crews, who have spent the past several days digging out bodies in Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood, said the dead came from three families whose houses were flattened by Israeli strikes earlier in the war.

"We are witnessing a painful, heartbreaking scene for the families of the Zeitoun neighborhood," said Mustafa Quzghat, a relative of the deceased.

The bodies were wrapped in white shrouds and draped with Palestinian flags. Some shrouds bore images of the deceased, according to Associated Press footage, and were laid out in rows on the ground.

The nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records that are viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of the toll.

Eight Governments Warn Israel Against Palestinian Removal

Any Israeli plan or action to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would violate international law and undermine the U.S.-backed plan for winding down the Gaza war, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and five other governments said in a statement on Sunday.

Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, last week published a plan to encourage Palestinian migration from Gaza, which he said would include Israel paying countries to help cover the cost of services for emigrants. Defense Minister Israel Katz has said Israel is prepared to facilitate the removal of Palestinians by sea, air or other means, and that plans remain under discussion.

The governments called these statements "inflammatory" and said they threatened the "legitimate and inalienable rights" of Palestinians and the future establishment of a Palestinian state. They warned that any Israeli effort "aimed at uprooting Palestinians from their land" would have "grave consequences." Previous Israeli attempts to persuade third countries to accept Palestinians from war-ravaged Gaza have gained little traction. The pushback from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan is significant because these states border or neighbor the Palestinian territories and have historically been central to regional diplomacy on the issue; Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab states besides those in recent normalization accords that maintain peace treaties with Israel.

Israel Warns Citizens Ahead of High Holidays

Israel issued a travel warning ahead of the Jewish High Holiday season, a busy travel period that begins this Friday. It cautioned citizens not to travel to Muslim nations, including Jordan and Egypt, which are at peace with Israel, and urged travelers to take precautions overseas, including avoiding displaying Jewish symbols such as skullcaps or speaking Hebrew in public spaces. Israel frequently issues such warnings ahead of holidays or during wartime.

Source: Fortune