JERUSALEM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Israeli shelling struck a Lebanese army observation post at the border on Friday, three sources in Lebanon told Reuters, after the Israeli military warned of a suspected armed infiltration that it said it was responding to with artillery fire.

Israel later ruled out that any incursion had occurred and residents of a village near the border, who had been instructed to hole up at home and lock doors and windows, were told they could again go outdoors.

BEIRUT, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said on Friday that the group would not be swayed by calls for it to stay on the sidelines of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, saying the party was "fully ready" to contribute to the fighting.

"The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly telling us not to interfere will have no effect," he told supporters gathered in the southern Beirut suburb for a rally.

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/: Russian forces delivered eight multiple-launch strikes by Iskander-M tactical missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukrainian military sites over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"In the period of October 7-13, the Russian Armed Forces delivered eight multiple-launch strikes by Iskander-M tactical missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians began a mass exodus from northern Gaza Friday after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate toward the southern part of the besieged territory, an unprecedented order ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group.

YAOUNDE, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Thursday urged African nations to act together in fighting against neo-colonialism.

SINGAPORE, Oct 13 (NNN-XINHUA) – A Scoot flight, scheduled for Perth, Australia, returned to Singapore Changi Airport yesterday evening, due to a bomb threat after takeoff, local media reported.

A spokesperson for the airline told local media that, the plane departed at 4:11 p.m. and turned back about one hour into the flight, due to a bomb threat.

The aircraft landed in Singapore at 6:27 p.m., and security checks were carried out, the spokesperson added.

Singaporean Air Force sent fighter jets to escort the Scoot flight back to Changi.

KYIV, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine struck a Russian missile carrier and a patrol ship in separate attacks this week involving sea-borne drones carrying experimental weapons, a Ukrainian intelligence source said on Friday.

The source gave no details of the damage but said the "Buyan" missile carrier was attacked on Friday and the "Pavel Derzhavin" missile carrier was attacked on Wednesday in joint operations carried out by the Ukrainian Security Service and naval forces.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 13 (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement agencies have escalated security measures to safeguard Jewish and Muslim communities ahead of global pro-Palestinian protests expected on Friday, but urged members of the public to go about their daily routines.

Police in the two most populous U.S. cities - New York and Los Angeles - said they would step up patrols, especially around synagogues and Jewish community centers, though authorities insisted they were unaware of any specific, or credible threats.

ANKARA, October 13. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued instructions to deliver the first batch of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via Egypt.

Aircraft carrying humanitarian cargo have already flown out of Turkey, A Haber television said.

The humanitarian aid will reportedly be delivered via the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of Muslims demonstrated Friday across the Middle East in support of the Palestinians and against the intensifying Israeli bombardment of Gaza, underscoring the risk of a wider regional conflict as Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion.

JERUSALEM, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Friday, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The visit came one day after the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amidst major fighting between Israel and Hamas that has continued for around a week.

"The security assistance will continue," Austin said at a joint press conference with Gallant, after meeting with Israeli senior defense officials at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

CARACAS, Oct 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — Venezuela’s government welcomed a new resolution by the UN Human Rights Council condemning unilateral coercive measures (UCM) against countries.

“We celebrate that the United Nations Human Rights Council approved a new resolution condemning Unilateral Coercive Measures,” Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The resolution adopted at the 54th session of HRC is “a new victory for Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy and International Law,” Gil added.