Top European airlines Lufthansa, KLM and Swiss on Tuesday announced that they were extending their suspension of flights to the Middle East, as tensions spiral throughout the region.

The moves come as Israel launched strikes on Beirut and a senior White House official warned that Iran was preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack "imminently" against Israel.

KLM has pushed out until the end of the year the suspension of its once-daily flight to Tel Aviv "given the situation in the region", spokeswoman Elvira van der Vis told AFP.

Despite US calls to avert a ground offensive in Lebanon, Israel has begun "targeted" raids on the country -- more proof that Washington has been unable to rein in its ally, amid fears of a wider Middle East conflict.

The US president indicated Monday that he was opposed to Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, calling for a ceasefire as tensions spiralled after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Qatar Airways unveiled a bid to take a 25 percent stake in troubled airline Virgin Australia on Tuesday, a deal that could shake up Australia's Qantas-dominated market.

The airlines, along with Virgin owner Bain Capital, announced details of the long-rumoured agreement before markets opened in Sydney.

Under the plan, Qatar would take a minority stake in Virgin for an undisclosed sum.

The firms said it would spell more direct flights from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney to Doha, which would better link Australia with Europe and elsewhere.

United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon have been unable to conduct patrols because of the intensity of Israeli strikes and Hezbollah's rockets targeting Israel, a UN spokesman said Monday.

With more than 10,000 personnel, the peacekeeping force has been stationed in Lebanon since 1978, with its role strengthened after a 33-day conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Nearly a year of devastating war has left Gaza's 2.4 million people enduring a humanitarian tragedy, with children in the besieged territory the most vulnerable, a UNICEF official told AFP in an interview.

Jonathan Crickx, the UN agency's spokesman for the Palestinian territories, has returned this month from a week-long mission to Gaza, still heavily impacted even as Israel shifts its military focus to Lebanon.

He talked to AFP about the plight of Gaza's children, who have not had a single day of education since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7.

In the chaos sweeping Lebanon, migrant workers from countries like Ethiopia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Sudan have emerged from the shadows as they flee Israel's aerial bombardment.

The usually quiet parish of Saint Joseph of the Jesuit Brothers in Beirut now echoes with the sounds of children.

Exhausted women huddle around a table while others wait for meals, under the constant hum of Israeli drones.

Every day, more arrive from Lebanon's south, the east and Beirut's southern suburbs.

Israel's long-contentious relationship with the United Nations has since October 7 spiralled to new depths, amid insults and accusations and even a questioning of the country's continued UN membership.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the world body of treating his country unfairly.

"Until this anti-Semitic swamp is drained, the UN will be viewed by fair-minded people everywhere as nothing more than a contemptuous farce," he thundered.

The United States said Tuesday that it was discussing a joint response after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, warning Tehran of "severe consequences".

Israel vowed it would make Iran "pay" for the attack, which it said saw 180 missiles fired at its territory, most of them intercepted, and pledged to immediately strike "the Middle East powerfully".

Tehran, meanwhile, threatened to strike any forces that intervened on its soil on Israel's behalf.

Egyptian authorities have refused to release dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah despite serving out his five-year sentence, his sister said Sunday.

Abdel Fattah, 42, was arrested on September 29, 2019. Just over two years later, he was handed a five-year sentence for "spreading false news" by sharing a Facebook post about police brutality.

His family on Thursday urged the government of Britain, where Abdel Fattah holds citizenship, to ensure his release this weekend.

Israel said Sunday it killed another senior Hezbollah official in an air strike on the Lebanese capital after dealing the Iran-backed group a seismic blow by assassinating its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel announced the killing of Nabil Qaouq, a member of Hezbollah's central council in a strike Saturday, adding that its air force continued to hit "dozens" more targets around Lebanon on Sunday.