Israel-Palestine conflict highlights: EU vows to boost efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian fighting

World concern deepened with an Israeli air strike in Gaza that destroyed several homes on Sunday and which Palestinian health officials said killed 42 people, including 10 children, and persistent rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for sanctions against Israel, while a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Stay tuned for live updates.

'Biden administration approved $735 million arms sale to Israel'

President Joe Biden's administration approved the potential sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel, and congressional sources said on Monday that US lawmakers were not expected to object to the deal despite violence between Israel and Palestinian militants.

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Sudan's Burhan defends normalisation of ties with Israel

The head of Sudan's civilian-military ruling council defended Monday his country's move to normalise ties with Israel, saying it "has nothing to do with the Palestinians' right to their own state."

The remarks, by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, came amid a deadly flare-up of violence between Israel and the Palestinians that has killed more than 200 people, mostly residents of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Four Arab countries -- Sudan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain -- last year normalised, or pledged to normalise, relations with the Jewish state. - AFP

Angela Merkel, Benjamin Netanyahu speak about Mideast conflict

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the current escalation in the Mideast conflict and emphasised Germany's solidarity with Israel and the country's right to self-defence.

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EU vows to boost efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian fighting

The European Union will redouble its efforts to end the upsurge in violence between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants, and seek progress during a special meeting of its foreign ministers Tuesday, the bloc said.

The EU also called the weekend destruction of a building housing major international media “extremely worrying” and said safe working conditions for journalists were essential. - AP

'Imperative' to protect health workers, facilities in Gaza conflict: WHO

The protection of health workers and infrastructure is "imperative in all circumstances" the World Health Organization chief said Monday, condemning the escalating violence between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.

"Health workers and infrastructure should always be protected and I call for leaders on all sides to ensure respect for these vital humanitarian laws," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. - AFP

Macron, Sisi agree 'absolutely necessary' to end Israel-Gaza hostilities: Elysee

IDF: Overnight, IDF troops thwarted an attempt to damage the security fence with Lebanon

Last night (Sunday), IDF troops spotted a number of Lebanese suspects approaching the security fence.

IDF soldiers that were deployed in a number of places along the security fence spotted the suspects and distanced them. It appears that the suspects were unarmed.

Following searches this morning in the area, damage to the security fence was identified.

The IDF views any attempt to breach Israel's sovereignty with great severity, and will continue to operate in both overt and covert ways in the area.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Israel and Palestinians to "protect civilians, especially children", reiterating that Israel "as a democracy has an extra burden" to do so.

"We'll continue to conduct intensive diplomacy to bring this current cycle of violence to an end" and "we are ready to lend support, if the parties seek a ceasefire", Blinken told a press conference in Copenhagen.

He reiterated Washington's support for Israel's right "to defend itself", stressing there was "no equivalence between a terrorist group indiscriminately firing rockets at civilians and a country defending its people from those attacks." - AFP

US working "intensively" to bring Israeli-Palestinian violence to an end - Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged all parties in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to protect civilians and said the United States is working intensively to an end to the violence.

"We have been working around the clock through diplomatic channels to try to bring an end to the conflict," Blinken said at a joint briefing with Denmark's foreign minister in Copenhagen. - Reuters

US asks Israel to provide 'justification' for strike on media building: Antony Blinken

UN food agency steps up help in Gaza, appeals for funds

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said Monday it was providing emergency assistance for more than 51,000 people in northern Gaza and appealed for $46 million for its work in the region.

Israeli air strikes hammered the Gaza Strip Monday after a week of violence that has killed more than 200 people, the large majority Palestinian, despite international calls for de-escalation.

"For people who have lost or fled their homes, one of the most pressing needs at the moment is food," said WFP country director Samer AbdelJaber in a statement issued by the Rome-based agency. - AFP

IDF confirms killing senior PIJ commander Hassan abu-Harbid

Erdogan urges Pope Francis to help end Israel's 'massacre' of Palestinians

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged Pope Francis to help end what he called Israel's "massacre" of Palestinians, which should be punished with sanctions, his office said.

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Israeli occupation is the basis of all evil, says Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi

As of midnight last night 58 children killed in Gaza Strip, 2 killed in Israel since May 10: UNICEF

Gaza rocket hits chicken coop in southern Israel, sparking fire

Israel bombs house with three rockets in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, no casualties

Eight phosphorous shells used by Israel against Palestine will be monitored: Director General of Civil Defense, Gaza

Residents of the Eshkol Regional Council bordering Gaza asked to enter bomb shelters until further notice

Sirens sounded in southern Israel: IDF

Reconnaissance flight targets a house in Bir al-Naja area west of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip

Overnight bombardment from Israel heaviest since since fighting began, say people of Gaza

Watch | The moment Villa Al-Khalidi in northwestern Gaza was bombed

IDF gives update on 'Operation Guardians of the Walls'

Watch | Young man trapped under rubble calls out for his mother in Palestine

IDF issues statement, says 3,150 rockets have been fired from Gaza strip to Israeli territories

The statement read, "As of 7:00, since the beginning of operation "Guardian of the Walls", approximately 3,150 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory, of which approximately 460 failed launches fell in the Gaza Strip."
"The Iron Dome Air Defense System has an intercept rate of approximately 90%," it added

IDF shoots young civilian in vehicle who was allegedly attacking troops at Hawara in northern Gaza

The Palestinian Teachers' Union announces a total strike in all educational institutions on Tuesday

IDF says 60 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since last night

Fire trucks arrive to support civil defense crews in controlling the fire at the sponge factory

Clashes break out at sponge factory in Gaza

Citizens' homes, land set on fire in Zalata area east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

AP's top editor calls for probe into Israeli airstrike

The Associated Press' top editor is calling for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts.

(PTI)

IDF fighter jets neutralise 9.3 miles of a Hamas tunnel overnight

Smoke shells fired east of Al-Qarara in the southern Gaza Strip

Israel fires smoke shells at homes of citizens east of Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip

Fire breaks out in northern Gaza strip as a result of shelling

Israeli warplanes shell empty land next to al-Attar mosque west of Rafah

Renewed artillery shelling on border areas east of Khan Younis province in the southern Gaza Strip

Justin Trudeau condemns Montreal clashes between pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters

Pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters clash in Montreal

Canadian police used tear gas Sunday following clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters in Montreal, as the worst violence in years raged between the Jewish state and Islamist militants.

Several hundred demonstrators, draped in Israeli flags, had gathered in a central Montreal square to express solidarity with the Jewish state.

Although the protest had begun peacefully, tensions ratcheted up with the arrival of pro-Palestinian demonstrators andclashessoon broke out.

(AFP)

Occupying forces bomb Ansar government compound in the Gaza Strip

Canada issues statement on Israel-Palestine conflict following UNSC session

Israel's financial hub Tel Aviv trembles as rockets rain down

Tel Aviv’s city hall launched a playful social media campaign this month declaring itself a vaccinated city eager to welcome back international travelers on their first post-coronavirus trips abroad.

That was before the rockets began to strike.

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After a 3 hour lull, rocket sirens sound in Gaza border town of Kerem Shalom

Watch | India speaks at the United Nations Security Council on Israel-Palestine Conflict

IDF says it struck Hamas-dug tunnel shaft located near kindergarten and mosque

After years of quiet, Israeli-Palestinian conflict exploded. Why now?

Twenty-seven days before the first rocket was fired from Gaza this week, a squad of Israeli police officers entered the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, brushed the Palestinian attendants aside and strode across its vast limestone courtyard. Then they cut the cables to the loudspeakers that broadcast prayers to the faithful from four medieval minarets.

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Israeli Defense Forces say they struck the homes of nine Hamas Commanders in the Gaza Strip

The Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement to say that nine additional residences belonging to high ranking commanders in the Hamas terror organization that were used as terror infrastructure were struck.
"The residences that were struck were used as terror infrastructure. Some of the residences were used to store weapons," the statement read.

The statement mentioned the residences it struck. "Among the Hamas terror organization commander's residences that were struck: the residence of the Beit Hanoun battalion commander, the residence of the Beit Hanoun company commander, the residence of a company commander in the Sabara battalion in the city of Gaza and the residence of a company commander in the Shati battalion."

A home in Shejaiya used by Hamas military intelligence was also targeted.

Top general says Israeli Defense Forces will continue to try killing Hamas senior leaders

Israel says attack on Gaza tunnels caused civilian houses to collapse

The Israeli military said that an attack on a militant tunnel system in Gaza on Sunday had caused civilian houses to collapse, causing unintended civilian casualities. Aircraft struck at a tunnel system used by the Islamist militant group Hamas under a road in Gaza City, the military said in a statement.

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Israel-Gaza fighting enters its second week

Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group faced mounting international calls for a ceasefire in hostilities that entered their second week on Monday with no end in sight.

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Immediate de-escalation need of the hour: India on escalating tensions between Israel and Gaza

Amid escalating tensions between Gaza and Israel, India on Sunday urged "both sides" to show extreme restraint and refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status-quo, underlining that “immediate de-escalation" is the need of the hour.

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Israeli PM says Gaza building housing media 'legitimate target'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended the strike on the Gaza tower that housed the Associated Press and Al Jazeera bureaus, alleging it also hosted a Palestinian "terrorist" intelligence office.

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