The Philippines is preparing to evacuate thousands of its citizens from Lebanon

The Philippine government is bracing to evacuate thousands of Filipino workers in Lebanon in case the deadly conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group further escalates, Philippine officials said Friday.

Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that set off air raid sirens across the country’s center. Air raid sirens rang out across Israel’s populous central area, including the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv.

Another missile from Yemen landed in central Israel about two weeks ago.

Authorities in Lebanon said a family of nine was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a town near the border with Israel.

The state-run National News Agency reported the deaths in the strike early Friday in Shebaa. It put the strike at 3 a.m. local.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the world is united in calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah and will be seeking approval from Israeli officials after the release of a proposal for a temporary 21-day halt in fighting.

“It is now the G7 countries, the European Union, the leading Arab countries, everyone speaking with one clear voice about the need to get that cease-fire in the north,” Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC before he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top strategy advisor, Ron Dermer, in New York.

Dimming hopes for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel plans to continue striking Hezbollah "with full force" and will not stop until all of its goals are achieved.

Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting and as U.S. and European officials were pressing for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to give time for negotiations.

Families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza for nearly a year are urging Israel to ensure than any possible cease-fire deal with Hezbollah includes provisions for the war in Gaza.

Gil Dickmann, whose cousin, Carmel Gat, was kidnapped and was one of six Israelis killed in Hamas tunnels in August, said the families of the hostages are feeling forgotten as attention shifts to the northern front.

Britain says it’s sending $6.7 million worth of humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies, hygiene kits and fuel to Lebanon to support the civilian population there as fighting forces thousands to flee their homes.

The United Kingdom said in a statement that the United Nations agency for children, UNICEF, will distribute the supplies, which will also help aid workers better deal with urgent health and nutrition needs.

Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon have poured into Syria in growing numbers, waiting for hours in heavy traffic to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country.

U.N. officials estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey. Those numbers are expected to grow as Israel targets southern and eastern Lebanon in an aerial bombardment that local officials say has killed more than 600 people this week, at least a quarter of them women and children.

An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon hit a building housing Syrian workers, killing 23 of them and wounding eight other people, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported Thursday.

The National News Agency said the strike late Wednesday occurred in the country's northeast, near the ancient city of Baalbek, in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, which runs along the Syrian border.

The rush for gold just keeps coming.

Gold hit another all time high this week. Recent gains for the precious metal are largely credited to ongoing economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and strong demand from central banks around the world.