In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers inspect a damaged building following an earthquake in Maumere. (Photo: AP)

Qatar firmly denied on Saturday that it was detaining any Iranian pilots, dismissing the claim as misleading and poorly timed given ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region. Foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Qatari rescue teams had searched thoroughly for three missing aviators, had already coordinated the handover of one pilot’s remains to Iran, and had invited an Iranian team in April to be briefed on the search  an offer Tehran never took up.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 11 people in southern Lebanon, among the deadliest single-day tolls since a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah took hold on June 20. The violence extended across the region: the UAE accused Iran of striking one of its tankers in the Strait of Hormuz for the third time in a week, while Iran-backed Houthi fighters hit a Red Sea port in Yemen  signs that the war, months on, keeps opening new fronts.

Follow The Indian Express Global Desk for live coverage of the day’s top world news.