By Jihed Abidellaoui, Zohra Bensemra and Khalil Ashawi

NABATIEH, Lebanon, June 26 (Reuters) - Chanting rhythmically in the summer sun, the men marched through the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh as part of their annual tradition to mark Ashura, the holiest day in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar. This year, they walked through a city in ruins.

Israel's nearly four-month air and ground campaign that it says was targeting armed group Hezbollah has destroyed large swathes of Lebanon's south and left other parts of it under Israeli military occupation.

Traffic levels in the Strait of Hormuz fell back from Wednesday's high, but vessels continued to use a non-Iranian-approved passage despite a ship being struck by a projectile, tracking platforms showed Friday.

At least 42 commodity vessels -- including tankers carrying oil, gas, and dry bulk such as fertilisers -- crossed on Thursday, Kpler's tracking platform showed, down from a high of 57 on Wednesday.

Ten of those vessels entered the Gulf, while 32 exited. Half of the 42 vessels used a southern passageway hugging the coast of Oman.

June 26 (Reuters) - UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed on Friday stressed the need to protect maritime corridors and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz in a call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi.

The exchange, reported by state news agency WAM, marks a rare public contact between Abu Dhabi and Tehran following tensions linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Traffic levels in the Strait of Hormuz fell back from Wednesday's high, but vessels continued to use a non-Iranian-approved passage, despite a ship being struck by a projectile, tracking platforms showed Friday.

At least 42 commodity vessels -- including tankers carrying oil, gas, and dry bulk such as fertilisers -- crossed on Thursday, Kpler's tracking platform showed, down from a high of 57 on Wednesday.

Ten of those vessels entered the Gulf, while 32 exited. Half of the 42 vessels used a southern passageway hugging the coast of Oman.

By Alexander Cornwell

TEL AVIV, June 26 (Reuters) - Israel's former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who lost a son in Gaza and boasts of his "Dahiyeh doctrine" of smashing foes with disproportionate force, is surging in polls and could oust Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister in a coming election.

Eisenkot, 66, has projected an image as a political outsider, soldier and security hawk whose humble background and family sacrifices stand in vivid contrast to Netanyahu's decades in high office and lingering corruption cases.

By Eman Abouhassira, Jana Choukeir and Jonathan Saul

DUBAI/LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Iran reasserted its right on Friday to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states against siding with the U.S., a day after an attack on a ship near Oman highlighted the fragility of a preliminary deal to end the Iran war.

Tehran was responding to what it called an "interventionist, irresponsible and provocative" joint statement by the U.S. and six Gulf states that rejected Iran's insistence that it could charge tolls on vessels transiting the strait.

BELGRADE, June 26 (Reuters) - Montenegrin police andthe U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested an Iranian national suspected of hacking attacks that damaged U.S. infrastructure to the tune of $3.4 billion, Montenegrin police said.

The 39-year-old man, with dualIranian and Turkish citizenship, is sought by the Southern District Court in New York on chargesincluding conspiracy to commit computer fraud, hacking, and identity theft.

He was arrested in the Adriatic coastal resort of Kotor, Montenegro’s police directorate said on Thursday.

Ships continued to leave the Gulf, some of them braving a route not authorised by Tehran, despite an attack on a freighter that forced the suspension of a UN evacuation, tracking platforms showed Friday.

The UN operation had freed 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers trapped by the dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz, before the attack struck a ship in the Gulf of Oman, the UN maritime agency said.

MAGDEBURG, June 26 (Reuters) - A Saudi doctor was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for killing six people and injuring hundreds, ramming a rented BMW into crowds at a historic market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg days before Christmas in 2024.

The attack shocked the country and stirred up tensions over the charged issue of immigration, months before a general election that was held in February 2025.

TOKYO, June 26 (Reuters) - The interim U.S.-Iran peace accord gives U.N. nuclear inspectors access to Iran, the watchdog's top official said on Friday, after Tehran indicated key sites would remain off-limits until a final deal with Washington was reached and sanctions lifted.

The U.S. and Iran last week signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for 60 days of talks to resolve thornier issues, including those related to Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday there were no plans to grant access to inspectors.