Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in south Lebanon, killing 13 people including women and children, the Lebanese health ministry said on Monday, in an intensification of violence after a weeks-long lull.

Israel's military vowed to continue targeting Hezbollah, accusing the Iran-backed militants of repeated violations of a ceasefire in place since June.

Hezbollah has not commented on the threat, or on the escalation in strikes seen in recent days.

DUBAI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Iran said it will step up efforts to tackle problems created by U.S. sanctions that are crippling its economy, while a senior Iranian official warned of a "painful response" if it comes under further attack.

Six months after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran launched the war, the conflict appears to be at a stalemate. A preliminary ceasefire accord reached in June has unravelled, and little progress has been made in diplomatic efforts to get the peace process back on track.

By Samia Nakhoul

ISTANBUL, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Six months after a conflict that rattled markets and pushed the Gulf to the brink of a wider war, the tide may be turning against Iran as Washington unleashes an unprecedented economic offensive to achieve what military force could not.

By Alexander Cornwell

TEL AVIV, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank to be dismantled, two people familiar with the matter said on Sunday, amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on settler attacks on Palestinians.

The toll from days of fighting between government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen climbed past 300 on Sunday, as hundreds of families fled their homes to escape the violence.

Two military officials with the Saudi-backed government forces told AFP that 84 of their troops were killed between midday Saturday and early Sunday morning, mostly in missile attacks. Four Houthi military sources said 57 rebel fighters were killed in the same period.

Sept 6 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed seven people, including two women, in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel retaliated for what it said were Hezbollah drone attacks within areas occupied by its troops.

Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah agreed in June, the Israeli military is operating in what it has declared a security zone in southern Lebanon.

Palestinian sports commentator Khalil Jadallah has spent the past three years mourning the athletes killed in the Gaza war. As Palestinian football officially resumed this week, his return to the stadium proved bittersweet.

Palestinian professional sports were brought to a halt after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, in which 1,014 Palestinian athletes were killed, according to the Palestinian Football Association's tally.

German director Wim Wenders clarified his views about the relationship between filmmakers and politics on Sunday after he caused an outcry at the Berlin film festival earlier this year.

Speaking in Venice, where he is presenting a new film about Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the "Paris, Texas" director said he had been misunderstood.

Sept 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln left Thailand on Sunday after a five-day port visit, ending a respite from an extended deployment that included operations in the Middle East, the U.S. Navy said.

“We would like to thank the people of Thailand for their incredible hospitality,”U.S. Navy Captain Dan Keeler, the Abraham Lincoln’s commanding officer, said in a statement.

Naval deployments typically last for six to nine months, but during times of conflict that can be extended.

Iran's top negotiator on Sunday threatened a more forceful response to any furt