An Israeli strike on a hotel in central Beirut killed at least four people Sunday, Lebanese officials said, underscoring the widening reach of the US-backed war against Iran as missiles, drones and air strikes pounded targets across the region.

The attack came with the conflict spilling into a second week, as both sides pressed attacks and the bodies of the first US troops to die in the war were returned home.

An AFP photographer at the bombed seafront hotel saw shattered windows and heavy damage to one room while security forces sealed off the area.

By Parisa Hafezi and Steve Holland

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump encouraged Iranian Kurdish forces in Iraq to launch attacks against Iran as the Middle East conflict widened, with Azerbaijan warning it would retaliate for being targeted by Iranian missiles.

Israel on Friday said it had started a "broad-scale" wave of attacks against infrastructure targets in Tehran, as Gulf cities came under renewed bombardment by Iran.

By Steve Holland, Jarrett Renshaw, Nandita Bose and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was not concerned about rising U.S. gas prices driven by the widening Iran conflict, telling Reuters in an exclusive interview that the U.S. military operation was his priority.

"I don't have any concern about it," he said, when asked about the higher prices at the pump. "They'll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit."

By Julie Zhu

HONG KONG, March 6 (Reuters) - Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities from their United Arab Emirates hubs on Friday, though the ongoing threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines as they scramble to accommodate travellers.

With most airspace in the Middle East still closed over missile and drone concerns since the start of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, authorities have been arranging charter flights and securing seats on limited commercial services to evacuate tens of thousands of people.

Crude prices surged Friday on mounting fears about oil supply disruption during the Middle East war, while equities retreated on poor US hiring data.

The US-Israel war on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have upended the world's energy and transport sectors, virtually halting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the U.S. might have struck the school.

March 6 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 5 km (3.11 miles) of the border between the countries in a message posted on its Telegram channel in Hebrew early on Friday.

Hezbollah's message came less than a day after Israel warned residents to leave Beirut's southern suburbs, prompting an exodus from a swathe of the capital known as Dahiyeh.

Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East on Monday, when Hezbollah opened fire, sparking Israeli airstrikes focused on Beirut's southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon.

(Fixes typo in headline)

SYDNEY, March 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that three Australian defence personnel were on board a United States submarine that sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean, but stressed they did not take part in the attack.

The strike, which occured off the southern coast of Sri Lanka this week, marked the first time since World War Two that the United States has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo. Sri Lankan authorities recovered the bodies of 87 sailors.

TAMPA, Florida, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday the United States was not expanding its military objectives in Iran, after President Donald Trump told Reuters that the United States must be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.

The Pentagon earlier this week said the military campaign, known as Operation Epic Fury, is focused on destroying Iran's offensive missiles, missile production and Navy, while not allowing Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Thursday said Tehran was reaching out to the United States about making a deal amid U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, adding that further action to reduce pressure on oil was imminent.

"They're calling, they're saying 'how do we make a deal?' I said you're being a little bit late," said Trump, speaking at an event with the Inter Miami soccer team at the White House.