The U.S. military has rejected Iran's claim that it struck an unmanned American military vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the assertion as a "total lie." Separately, a senior Iranian official said Tehran intends to declare an "exclusion zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz targeting vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.

The strait is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, with roughly a fifth of globally traded oil passing through it, so any move to restrict shipping there carries far-reaching implications for energy markets and commercial traffic.

Meanwhile, according to Lebanese authorities, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed seven people and leveled a vacant hospital near an area that has become a flash point in the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

State-run media in Tehran said the U.S. vessel had been trying to enter an area Iran considers restricted within the Strait of Hormuz, but Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, called the claim "a total lie."

The Iranian assertion came one day after the United States said it struck Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for Iran launching ballistic missiles at Navy warships. Attacks resumed last week following roughly a month of quiet.

The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Negotiations collapsed after a ceasefire agreement was announced in June, and on-and-off fighting has continued as both sides seek to inflict military and economic damage.

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said the era of "proportionate responses" is over and that Iran's retaliation will be "faster, heavier and more painful."

The new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran plans to announce an "exclusion zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. His comments to Iran's state broadcaster offered few details and came a day after the U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at U.S. warships. Experts described the missile launches as a dangerous escalation, noting that Iran's previous attacks at sea had targeted commercial shipping. Whether Iran enforces such a zone, and how the U.S. Navy responds, will be a key question in the coming days.

The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and "will begin from the line of the U.S. naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf," Rezaei said.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed at least seven people in the south of the country and leveled an empty hospital, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Strikes on the village of Arabsalim killed two people, the ministry said. Two others were killed in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, near a strategic hill that Israel said its forces gained control over on Thursday. Three more people were killed in the village of Nabatiyeh al-Tahta after an Israeli drone struck a parking lot. At least 20 others were wounded, among them three children and five women.

Israel's military said its latest strikes were in response to a drone attack launched earlier Sunday by Hezbollah against troops in southern Lebanon, and said Hezbollah had used the empty hospital as a command center.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect more than two months ago, but low-level skirmishes and Israeli strikes have continued in the south.

In Gaza City, dozens of Palestinians gathered to mourn more than 110 people, including at least 70 children, whose remains were recovered by rescue crews digging through the Zeitoun neighborhood. Crews 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," said Mustafa Quzghat, a relative.

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

More than 73,650 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, keeps detailed records that U.N. agencies and international organizations view as generally reliable, though it does not break down casualties between civilians and militants.

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, defended the lack of progress in talks over next steps in the fragile Gaza ceasefire, saying "it's been a dystopian place for a long time."

Speaking at a news conference in Ukraine, Kushner defended his work with Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying the militarization of the Palestinian territory by the Hamas militant group was "beyond our comprehension, so demilitarizing it is not going to be easy."

"But we're very determined, and we're working through these things," Kushner said.

He added: "We're working through some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the end state. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards." Israel's election is scheduled for Oct. 27.

In western Gaza City, an Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle killed a father and his daughter and wounded at least six others, according to health officials at Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The Israeli military said it struck a "terrorist" in Gaza City.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,344 Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire agreement was reached with Hamas in October, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and is responding to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.

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

Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, last week published a plan to encourage Palestinian migration from Gaza. Israel's 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 the statements "inflammatory" and said they threatened the "legitimate and inalienable rights" of Palestinians and the future establishment of a Palestinian state.