Israeli warplanes waged strikes on Monday evening near the Lebanese-Syrian border which reportedly hit a "Hizbullah target" suspected of being a "missile base."

"Two Israeli raids hit a Hizbullah target on the border of Lebanon and Syria," a Lebanese security source told Agence France Presse.

Syria's Red Crescent on Monday said it has distributed 6,650 food rations in three areas of Damascus where rebels and the army reached a truce, but which are still under partial blockade.

The distributions have taken place over the past four days in Beit Sahem, Babbila and Yalda, three rebel bastions where the two sides reached a ceasefire after more than a year and a half of fighting and daily shelling.

Syrian troops battled rebels Monday over a strategic Aleppo district that could be key to securing a nearby prison and laying siege to the city's rebel-held east.

The Al-Watan daily, which is close to the government, said troops had advanced in the Sheikh Najjar district of Syria's second city and onetime economic hub.

Syria's security forces on Monday released dissident writer and journalist Akram Bunni, two days after his arrest in Damascus, his brother and rights lawyer Anwar Bunni told AFP.

"State security released Akram Bunni Monday afternoon," said Anwar Bunni, a leading human rights lawyer and activist, adding that his brother had been "questioned on several articles he had written for the Arabic press".

Hollywood star and U.N. refugee agency envoy Angelina Jolie met orphaned Syrian refugee children in Lebanon and called for an end to the war across the border, the UNHCR said Monday

Syria's nearly three-year war reportedly killed more than 140,00 Syrians and forced millions to flee, most of them to neighboring countries like Lebanon.

Norway's intelligence agency said Monday that it fears an increased "terrorist threat" to its country due to dozens of Norwegian nationals fighting in the Syrian conflict.

At least 40 or 50 people with links to Norway have fought, or are currently fighting, with forces opposed to the Bashar Assad regime and run the risk of returning as seasoned radical fighters, the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) wrote in its annual threat assessment report.

President Michel Suleiman urged on Monday the Lebanese to be aware amid the critical stage the country is passing through.

The president also called for solidarity among the Lebanese in order to confront the terrorist plots targeting innocent people and that aim at destabilizing the country.

Another 60 boys and men who were being held by Syria's authorities after their evacuation from besieged Homs have been released, governor Talal Barazi told Agence France Presse Monday.

The detainees, aged from 15 to 55 years, were among some 1,400 people evacuated from rebel-held districts in the heart of Syria's third city after a year and a half under a choking army siege.

Jordanian border guards foiled an attempt to smuggle a large amount of ammunition from Syria and arrested five people early Monday, the army said.

"Border guards foiled an attempt to smuggle a large amount of ammunition and other material from Syria into Jordan, at around 1:30 am. (22:30 GMT)," the army said in a statement on its website.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed on Monday that the military is determined to prevent the war ongoing in the neighboring country Syria from engulfing Lebanon.

Qahwaji expressed optimism over the future, pointing out that his visit to the Italian capital Rome is to tackle the bilateral ties between the army of the two countries, in particular ahead of a conference set to be held in Italy to support the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces.