RIYADH -- Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud left on Monday for an official Arab tour.

The Saudi Royal Court said that he will visit Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey upon the directives of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi Press Agency reported. (Saudi Arabia-Crown Prince-Arab Tour)

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JERUSALEM -- Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid decided on Monday to disband their coalition and call for new elections, after months of efforts to stabilize their shaky coalition government, local media reported.

They agreed to bring to the parliament a bill next Monday to dissolve the parliament, and the next elections are expected to take place in October, Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported, citing Bennet's spokesperson. (Israel-New Elections-Disbanding Coalition)

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BEIRUT -- Lebanon's Health Ministry announced on Monday that it has detected the country's first case of monkeypox in a person who returned from abroad, without specifying which country.

The ministry said the person is in stable condition and the contacts are being tracked. (Lebanon-Monkeypox)

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JERUSALEM -- Israel is building a U.S.-sponsored air defense alliance in the Middle East which has already thwarted attempted Iranian attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday.

Dubbing the regional alliance as Middle East Air Defense (MEAD), Gantz said it is being built "in the wake of Iran's attempts to hit the region with rockets, cruise missiles and drones," according to an official transcript of his meeting with the parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. (Israel-Mideast Defense Alliance-US)