The Gulf Cooperation Council reaffirmed its support for Lebanon during what it said was a "critical stage" and called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after holding an extraordinary ministerial meeting in Doha.
In a statement, the council condemned the escalation of conflict in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories, calling on all involved parties to exercise self-restraint and refrain from violence.
More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians since October 7, when Hamas gunmen led an incursion into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israel and Gaza health authorities.
North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Thursday towards the sea off the peninsula's eastern coast, South Korea's military said, the first such launch in more than 40 days after a series of weapons tests earlier this year.
A wildfire prompted an evacuation alert on Wednesday about 30 km (18.64 miles) from Vancouver, one of Canada's largest metropolitan areas, as blazes in Western Canada continued to spread due to dry and hot weather.
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday while Lebanese authorities said Israeli retaliatory attacks killed at least one person, a flare-up in violence that coincided with the latest round of talks between the two countries.
Italy took the unprecedented step of placing all its major cities on the highest level of health alert due to high temperatures on Thursday while Hungary turned off the lights at some of its best-known buildings to save energy as a heatwave maintained its grip on large parts of Europe.
Rescuers worked on Thursday to douse fires and clear debris in Ukraine's eastern city of Balakliia after Russian strikes on homes killed three overnight, authorities said on the Telegram messaging app.