Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in October 27 elections, ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, said on Wednesday that he would refuse to serve as a minister in a new government led by the current premier.

French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Riyadh where he is due to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday, in a surprise "solidarity" visit after weeks of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that his country would organize a conference to support the Lebanese Army after Israeli elections this month, decrying what he called untenable pressure on Beirut.

Israeli troops currently occupy a swathe of south Lebanon after invading in March, while Lebanese authorities are under pressure to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Moscow is ready to resume trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks next month, the Kremlin said Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Russia.

Israel goes to the polls on October 27 with results forecast to be close, meaning that the next government will be determined by whoever can cobble together a coalition in a fragmented political landscape.

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei told the visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir that Tehran would not allow nuclear material to leave the country, according to state TV.

"Not even a tiny bit of enriched nuclear material will leave Iran; such materials constitute a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people, intended for use within the country," said Rezaei, Iran's secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Indonesians protested in several cities on Tuesday, raging against wildfires and a toxic haze that has made thousands unwell for weeks on end in a crisis that has engulfed Southeast Asia.

Demonstrations were called by students to display dissatisfaction with the government of President Prabowo Subianto, which marked its second year on Tuesday.

A Lebanese judge on Tuesday ordered two Hezbollah officials to appear for questioning over their alleged involvement in a delivery of explosives seized by authorities this month, a judicial official told AFP.

Lebanese authorities had been carrying out investigations after arresting two suspected Hezbollah members accused of transporting half a ton of explosives, which the Iran-backed group subsequently said were part of its "capabilities" to be used against Israel.

British fighter planes will be deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks from Houthi rebels, the UK government announced on Tuesday.

"The UK will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets," the defense ministry said in a statement.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that their naval mines halted two tankers attempting to circumnavigate through the strategic Strait of Hormuz via routes considered illegal by Tehran.

"Two violating oil tankers were set ablaze and halted due to the explosion of mines planted by the brave sailors of the IRGC Navy at an illegal crossing point in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz," the Guards said in a statement published on their official Sepah News website.