Hamas on Monday urged the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from Syria, saying its involvement in that war is contributing to the "sectarian polarisation" of the region. Hezbollah should focus its efforts on fighting its arch-enemy Israel, said the Islamist Palestinian movement in a statement released in the Gaza Strip.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on four Lebanese citizens on Tuesday, accusing them of fundraising and recruiting for Hezbollah in West Africa, as Washington seeks to cut off sources of cash for the Lebanese militant group. The U.S. Treasury Department said Ali Ibrahim al-Watfa, Abbas Loutfe Fawaz, Ali Ahmad Chehade, and Hicham Nmer Khanafer were sanctioned for acting as "ambassadors" for Hezbollah, which the U.S. government considers a terrorist group.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on four Lebanese citizens on Tuesday, accusing them of fundraising and recruiting for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in West Africa. The U.S. Treasury Department said the four men were sanctioned for effectively acting as "ambassadors" for Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist group. They were acting in Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and the Gambia, it said.

Israel has been the target of a growing number of cyber attacks from Iran and its militant allies Hezbollah and Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. "In recent months, we have identified a significant rise in the scope of cyber attacks by Iran which are carried out directly by Iran and its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas," he told a cyber security conference at Tel Aviv University, referring to the Lebanese Shiite militia and the Palestinian Islamist movement which rules Gaza.