CAIRO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict entered its 17th day on Monday, marked by intensified military actions, including Israeli ground operations in Lebanon and a widening scope of strikes, as regional nations grappled with escalating casualties and infrastructure attacks while renewing calls for de-escalation.
The following is a brief overview of the latest developments on the escalating crisis affecting nearly all regional countries and beyond.
The United States
-- U.S. President Donald Trump said he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries. Several U.S. allies then said they have no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the waterway.
Trump later said the United States does not require help from other countries to deal with the reopening of the strait, but still criticized some long-standing U.S. allies for not being "enthusiastic" about his call.
Israel
-- Israeli forces launched "targeted" ground operations against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said, opening a new front in a widening regional conflict.
-- The Israeli army said it has destroyed an aircraft used by Iran's top leadership at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, and destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' Navy in eastern Tehran.
-- The Israel Police said that it found missile and interceptor fragments, some of large size, in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Iran
-- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has neither sought a ceasefire nor negotiations with the United States.
-- An Iranian government spokesperson claimed that U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed 226 women, 204 children, and damaged more than 61,000 civilian units.
-- Iran's Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Seyed Reza Salehi-Amiri said no damage has been caused to the country's depositories for protecting historical artifacts, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Iraq
-- The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced a further 72-hour extension of the country's airspace closure, citing ongoing regional tensions.
-- The Iraqi Shiite militia Kata'ib Hezbollah announced the death of its security official, Abu Ali al-Askari, and named a successor to the post.
-- Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces said six of its members were killed and four others wounded in an Israeli airstrike in the western province of Anbar.
-- AFP reported two drones attacking Majnoon oil field, a major southern Iraqi oil field, with one hitting a telecommunication tower and the other targeting the offices of a U.S. firm operating at the site, adding that there has been no damage.
-- An Iraqi security source said a booby-trapped drone struck the upper floors of the Royal Tulip al-Rasheed Hotel in central Baghdad, with no injuries or damage reported.
Oman
-- Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said met with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, with both sides stressing the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to contain tensions and de-escalate the situation.
The United Arab Emirates
-- A drone struck a building in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain, sparking a fire but causing no casualties, the emirate's media office said. Separately, a fire at a petroleum facility in Fujairah following a drone attack was also contained, authorities said. Later in the day, Abu Dhabi authorities said a drone strike triggered a fire at the Shah oil field, with no injuries reported.
-- The UAE Defense Ministry said Iranian missile and drone attacks have killed seven people in the country, including two military personnel and five civilians, since Feb. 28, and injured 145 people of various nationalities, with injuries ranging from minor to severe.
Jordan
-- Jordan's King Abdullah II met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stressing the need to halt escalation and prioritize dialogue to address regional challenges.
-- During the meeting between Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, both senior officials said that attention to tensions with Iran must not overshadow the situation in Gaza, calling for implementing the Gaza peace plan and halting Israeli measures in the West Bank.
Lebanon
-- At least seven people, including two children and two paramedics, were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon, Lebanese officials said.
-- Hezbollah said its fighters repelled Israeli advances throughout the day, striking a Merkava tank north of the Khiam detention center with a guided missile and hitting an Israeli troop gathering near the Kfar Yuval settlement with rockets.
-- The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon has risen to 886 since March 2, with 2,141 people injured, the Lebanese Public Health Ministry said. Official data also showed that the number of internally displaced people in Lebanon due to the conflict with Israel has surpassed 1 million.
Britain
-- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is working with allies on a "viable plan" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that restoring freedom of navigation in the key waterway is "not a simple task." He also said reopening the strait will not be a NATO mission.
France
-- French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that it is "unacceptable" for France to be targeted amid the regional escalation following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. He said he had called on Iran to immediately end the attacks it has carried out against countries in the region, whether directly or through proxies.
Macron also reiterated that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible. ■
