By Maya Gebeily and Emilie Madi

BEIRUT, March 31 (Reuters) - Lebanon is preparing for the possibility that hundreds of thousands displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders will not return home in the long term, Lebanese social affairs minister Haneen Sayed said on Tuesday.

Sayed spoke to Reuters after Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said the military would destroy all homes along Lebanon's border with Israel and bar 600,000 residents who fledsouthern Lebanon from returning to their villages.

By John Irish and Angelo Amante

PARIS/ROME, March 31 (Reuters) - France and Italy have joined Spain in pushing back on U.S.-Israeli military operations, sources said on Tuesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump singled out NATO allies in Europe as unhelpful in the month-long war, highlighting divisions.

The decisions came against a backdrop of tensions between Washington and key partners over the war in Iran. Earlier this month, Trump called longtime NATO ‌allies "cowards" over their lack of support against Iran.

By Anthony Deutsch

THE HAGUE, March 31 (Reuters) - The widening Iran conflict has led to airstrikes on infrastructure across the Middle East and threats to target oil facilities, electricity production sites and desalination plants that supply civilians, which some experts say could amount to war crimes if carried out.

WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL LAW SAY?

MADRID, March 31 (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned as a "step towards apartheid" Monday'sapproval by the Israeli parliament of a law that would impose death sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks by military courts.

"It is an asymmetrical measure that would not apply to Israelis committing the same crimes. Same crime, different punishment. It's another step towards apartheid. The world cannot stay silent," Sanchez, one of the most vocal supporters of Palestinians among Western leaders, wrote on X on Tuesday.

March 31 (Reuters) - Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers on Monday called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to war in the Gulf and Middle East regions, urging peace talks to be held as soon as possible, Pakistan's foreign ministry and China's state news agency Xinhua reported.

The diplomats also said the safety of waterways should be ensured and that of ships and crews stranded in the waters within the Strait of Hormuz, Xinhua said.

By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, March 31 (Reuters) - Israel will destroy all homes in Lebanese villages near the border and 600,000 people who fled the south will not be allowed home until northern Israel is secure, the defence minister said on Tuesday, vowing to inflict Gaza-like destruction in the area.

Israel Katz reiterated Israeli plans to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, saying that it would maintain control over a swathe of territory up to the Litani River once the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah group ended.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed migration and closer cooperation on returns, border security and tackling people smuggling networks in a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in London, said Starmer's office on Tuesday.

Starmer welcomed steps taken by the Syrian government against the Islamic State and progress on UK-Syria counter-terrorism cooperation, while also addressing wider regional stability and economic issues, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, writing by Sam Tabahriti)

By Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI, March 31 (Reuters) - A day before Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, the Indian‑flagged LPG tanker Pine Gas loaded cargo at the United Arab Emirates’ Ruwais port, hoping to reach home within a week.

However, it would be nearly three weeks before the vessel safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran began selectively allowing ships through the narrow waterway.

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The next few days in the Middle East conflict will be decisive, U.S. DefenseSecretary Pete Hegseth told a briefing on Tuesday, saying there had been major desertions from the Iranian armed forces.

"We have more and more options, and they have less ... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive," Hegseth said. "Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it."

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the next days of the Iran war will be "decisive" while refusing to rule out US ground forces playing a role in the conflict.

Hegseth also revealed during a news conference -- his first in nearly two weeks -- that he had visited US troops in the Middle East over the weekend, and said that talks on ending the conflict were "gaining strength."

"The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it," Hegseth said.