United Nations officials warned Wednesday that Lebanon was staring down a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis as the number of internally displaced people hit 600,000 and Israel presses its offensive against Hezbollah militants.

Hezbollah said its fighters were locked in clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, using rocket-propelled weapons to repel Israeli attempts to breach the border.

"Lebanon finds itself facing a conflict and a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, told a briefing.

After weeks of anxiety under Israeli air strikes, Lebanese-Turkish mother-of-four Mona was gripped by a mixture of relief and sorrow as she prepared to evacuate Lebanon by sea.

"I feel we're being ripped away from our country," the 42-year-old who did not want to give her surname said.

"Lebanon is our country. It was the best country. But they destroyed our lives," she added crying, surrounded by more than 10 suitcases.

After a year of desperately hoping for positive news or a sign of life, the family of Israeli hostage Idan Shtivi has learnt he was killed on October 7, 2023, the first day of Hamas's attack.

"We thought he was alive for a year," Idan's brother, Omri, told AFP. "I just wish I could have hugged him one last time."

After 12 months of daring to hope, Omri's dreams of a reunion were shattered on Sunday when the Israeli army informed the family that 28-year-old Idan had been killed during his abduction at the Nova Festival which was targeted by Hamas militants.

As Israeli strikes devastate Lebanon, calls to safeguard the country's only airport -- a lifeline for aid and travel located precariously close to Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold -- have gained urgency.

Since Israel intensified its air campaign against Hezbollah last month, Beirut's airport has received a flurry of aid shipments from various countries, most recently France and Qatar.

Air France said Wednesday it had launched an inquiry into how a jet on a Paris-Dubai flight went over Iraq as Iranian missiles taking part in an attack on Israel went through the same airspace.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Israeli territory on October 1 as tensions in the Middle East soared. The missiles had to cross Iraq to reach Israel.

Air France flight AF662 crossed Iraqi territory at the start of the attack, just before Air France ordered its planes to stop flying over Iraq and local authorities closed Iraqi airspace, according to the French carrier.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks that were expected to cover efforts to end fighting between the Israeli military and Iran-backed groups in Gaza and Lebanon.

"I hope that these consultations can lead to better conditions for Palestine and Lebanon and establish peace in the region," Araghchi told Iranian state television upon his arrival in Riyadh.

After narrowly escaping Israeli air strikes, Lebanese mother Tanaz Agha shared a picture taken from her plane window as she flew out of Beirut.

"Proud to be a Lebanese who can travel on my national airline in a time of war," the 46-year-old says she told her friends on social media.

As Israel ramped up air strikes against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah two weeks ago, most airlines stopped flying to the country.

National carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) remains the only carrier still serving Beirut despite the mounting risks and past hits on the runways.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Albania Thursday on the first stop of a Balkan tour that will also take him to Serbia as he tries to boost ties with a region once ruled by the Ottoman empire.

Erdogan will inaugurate the Great Mosque of Tirana, the largest mosque in the Balkans, which has been paid for by Turkey.

Some 600 Turkish companies employ more than 15,000 people in Albania, Erodgan said in February when he hosted Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Israel's main international ally the United States warned Wednesday against Gaza-like military action in Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened it with "destruction" similar to that of the Palestinian territory.

But armed forces chief Herzi Halevi vowed to keep up Israel's intensive bombing of Hezbollah targets, which has already killed more than 1,200 people since September 23, "without allowing them any respite or recovery".

With parched crops on one side and lush green plants on the other, a small farming project in northwest Tunisia demonstrates how foreign funding coupled with dogged local efforts can help tackle the impact of climate change.

A local dam built by woman farmer Saida Zouaoui in the village of Ghardimaou after years of effort has turned her into a local hero for her fellow smallholders, who say it helped increase their production despite a six-year drought.