Lebanon reported two dead in separate Israeli strikes on the country’s south yesterday, as Israel’s military said it had killed a Hezbollah operative, despite a ceasefire between the two sides.

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday called for Asian nations to unite in resisting geopolitical confrontation, unilateralism and protectionism, as he aims to consolidate ties with some of China’s closest neighbours amid a deterioration of relations with the US.

Medicine stocks are critically low due to the aid block in Gaza, making it hard to keep hospitals even partially operational, the World Health Organization said yesterday.

Iran said yesterday it was giving high-level nuclear talks with the United States today “a genuine chance”, after President Donald Trump threatened bombing if discussions failed.

At least 37 people, including a journalist, were killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza yesterday as French President Emmanuel Macron said that he strongly opposes any displacement of Palestinians or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli troops flattened farmland and cleared entire residential districts in Gaza to open a “kill zone” around the enclave, according to a report published yesterday that quoted soldiers testifying about the harsh methods used in the operation.

A wave of Israeli strikes on Gaza yesterday targeted residential buildings and makeshift tents sheltering forcibly displaced families, killing at least 46 people.

Iran’s top diplomat has dismissed direct negotiations with the United States as pointless over nuclear talks, his office said yesterday.

A video recovered from the cellphone of an aid worker killed in Gaza alongside other rescuers shows their final moments, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, with clearly marked ambulances and emergency lights flashing as heavy gunfire erupts.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian yesterday dismissed his deputy for parliamentary affairs over a costly trip to Antarctica, as the country grapples with hyperinflation amid a biting economic crisis.

Israel announced the launch of a new ground offensive in Gaza City yesterday, with rescuers saying military operations had killed at least 30 people across the Palestinian territory since dawn.

Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their Turkish allies of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter yesterday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced “security zone” they intend to seize.

An Israeli airstrike killed four people including a Hezbollah official in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, a Lebanese security source said, further testing a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated a demand on Sunday for Hamas to disarm and for its leaders to leave Gaza as he promised to step up pressure on the group while continuing efforts to return hostages..He said Israel would work to implement US President Donald Trump’s “volun

The crescent moon was spotted at Sudair and Tamir observatories in the Kingdom

Israel’s air force conducted a large strike on a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital yesterday, a Reuters reporter said, the first heavy bombardment there since a truce deal in November ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli actions in Gaza, including strikes on populated areas in which civilians have been killed, “bear the hallmarks” of atrocities, the United Nations’ aid agency warned yesterday.

The resumption of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip has displaced 1,42,000 people in a mere seven days, the United Nations said Wednesday, warning of dwindling stocks of humanitarian aid.

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 23 Palestinians yesterday, local health officials said, as the Israeli military expanded evacuation orders to tens of thousands of residents across the enclave.