Region

DAMASCUS — Authorities in southern Syria reported that Israeli bombardment on Tuesday killed at least five people in Daraa province, while Israel's military said it carried out a strike in response to incoming fire.

The violence in the south, near the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, followed Israeli air strikes in central Syria, the latest in a string of attacks on military sites since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime president Bashar Al Assad.

Daraa provincial authorities, in a statement posted on Telegram, said in a provisional toll that "five people killed in the Israeli bombardment of the town of Kuwayya".

It added that residents of the town, west of Daraa city, had fled Israeli tank shelling.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that an "Israeli military unit" entered the town and fired heavy artillery at residents attempting to resist their incursion.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its troops "identified several terrorists who opened fire toward them in southern Syria", without providing a specific location.

"The troops returned fire in response and the IAF (air force) struck the terrorists," it added.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Assad's fall in December, saying it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities it considers jihadists.

It has also deployed to the Golan Heights buffer zone, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria, which borders the Israeli-annexed Golan.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, has reported near-daily Israeli military incursions into southern Syria beyond the demarcation line.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had "struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4", referring to bases in Palmyra and another 50 kilometres west of the city.

On Friday, the army also carried out strikes on the same bases.

Syria's foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a campaign against "the stability of the country".

At an Arab summit in Cairo in early March, Syria's interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa called on the international community to pressure Israel to "immediately" withdraw its troops from southern Syria, calling it a "direct threat" to peace in the region.

United Nations, United States — The United Nations said Monday a strike on its buildings in Gaza last week that killed one employee and injured several others was caused "by an Israeli tank," a claim disputed by the country's government.

"Based on the information currently available, the strikes hitting a UN compound in Deir Al Balah on 19 March were caused by an Israeli tank," said the secretary-general's spokesman Stephane Dujarric. 

The strike -- which killed a Bulgarian employee of the UN Office for Project Services and severely injured six others, according to Dujarric -- came as Israel renewed its intense bombardment of the Palestinian territory, carrying out the deadliest wave of attacks since a January truce in its war against militant group Hamas.

"The location of this UN compound was well known to the parties to the conflict," Dujarric said.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a statement on X that Israel launched an investigation into the UN worker's death, but "the initial examination found no connection... whatsoever" to Israeli military activity.

Given the renewed violence, Dujarric said the UN "has taken the difficult decision" to temporarily reduce its international staff within the Palestinian territory.

But "the UN is not leaving Gaza," Dujarric stressed, adding that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "renews his urgent call for the restoration of the ceasefire to bring an end to the anguish."

Israel's military said it intercepted two "projectiles" launched on Monday from the Gaza Strip, nearly a week after Israel resumed intensified bombing of the territory.

It is the third time Gaza fighters have fired rockets into Israel since it restarted its heavy air strikes on March 18, shattering a period of relative calm since a January truce.

"Following the sirens that sounded at 19:02 in the communities near the Gaza Strip, two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip were intercepted" by the Israeli Air Force, the military statement said.

The armed wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, the Al Quds Brigade, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, saying in a statement that it had fired towards Sderot, Netiv Ha'asara and Zikim, near the northern edge of the Gaza Strip.

The health ministry in Gaza said Monday that 730 people had been killed since Israel resumed intense bombardments, including 57 in the past 24 hours.

RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — Doctors Without Borders [MSF] denounced on Monday the "extremely precarious" situation of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.

According to the United Nations, some 40,000 residents have been displaced since January 21, when the Israeli army launched an operation targeting Palestinian armed groups in the north of the territory.

The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to about three million Palestinians as well as nearly 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.

The Israeli operation started two days after a truce agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli military and the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers.

The situation of the displaced Palestinians is "extremely precarious", said MSF, which is operating in the area.

Palestinians "are without proper shelter, essential services, and access to healthcare", the NGO said.

"The mental health situation is alarming."

In a statement to AFP, the Israeli military [IDF] said it had been operating "against all terrorist organizations, including Hamas, in a complex security reality".

"The IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals," the statement said.

MSF said the scale of forced displacement and destruction of camps "has not been seen in decades" in the West Bank.

"People are unable to return to their homes as Israeli forces have blocked access to the camps, destroying homes and infrastructure," said MSF Director of Operations Brice de la Vingne.

"Israel must stop this, and the humanitarian response needs to be scaled up."

Dubbed "Iron Wall", the Israeli operation is primarily targeting three refugee camps,  Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, and defence minister Israel Katz said in February it would last several months.

"I have instructed [the soldiers] to prepare for a prolonged stay in the evacuated camps for the coming year, and not to allow the return of their residents or the resurgence of terrorism," he said in a statement.

TEHRAN — Iran said on Monday it was open to indirect talks with the United States, after President Donald Trump had demanded negotiations for a new nuclear deal.

"The way is open for indirect negotiations," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, dismissing the prospect of direct talks "until there is a change in the other side's approach towards the Islamic republic".

The top Iranian diplomat said Tehran would not engage in direct talks with Washington under threats and so long as Trump maintain his "maximum pressure" policy.

Under that policy in his first term as president, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark agreement on Iran's nuclear programme in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran.

The deal, sealed in 2015 between Tehran and Western powers, required Iran to limit its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting its enrichment activities were solely for peaceful purposes.

On March 7, Trump said he had written to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to call for nuclear negotiations and warn of possible military action if Tehran refused.

The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash, Iranian news agency Fars reported at the time.

On Friday Khamenei said US threats "will get them nowhere", warning of reciprocal measures "if they do anything malign" against Iran.

Araghchi on Thursday said Trump's letter was "more of a threat", but added that it could also open up some opportunities and that Tehran would respond soon.

US Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff, in an interview published Friday, said Trump's goal was to avoid military conflict by building trust with Iran.

He insisted the letter was not meant as a threat.

Tehran and Washington cut diplomatic ties after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah.

Since then, the Swiss embassy in Tehran has facilitated communications between the two nations.

Gulf state Oman has also mediated indirect talks on Iran's nuclear issue via the so-called "Muscat process", which Araghchi had said in October was "halted for the time being."

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — US and Russian officials opened talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday on a partial ceasefire in the Ukraine war, a day after delegates from Washington and Kyiv had their own discussions.

US President Donald Trump is pushing for a rapid end to the three-year war and hopes talks in Riyadh could pave the way for a breakthrough.

Both sides have proposed different plans for temporary ceasefires, but cross-border attacks have meanwhile continued unabated.

Originally planned to take place simultaneously to enable shuttle diplomacy -- with the United States going back and forth between the delegations -- the talks are now taking place one after the other.

Russia's TASS news agency said at around 0730 GMT that the US-Russian talks had begun.

The meeting between the Ukrainian team, led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, and the Americans finished up late Sunday night.

"The discussion was productive and focused -- we addressed key points including energy," Umerov said on social media, adding Ukraine was working to make its goal of a "just and lasting peace" a reality.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff voiced optimism that any agreement struck would pave the way for a "full-on" ceasefire.

"I think you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that you'll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire," he told Fox News.

‘Only at the beginning' 

But the Kremlin on Sunday downplayed expectations of a rapid resolution.

"We are only at the beginning of this path," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.

He said there were many outstanding questions over how a potential ceasefire might be implemented.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, proposing instead a halt in attacks only on energy facilities.

"There are difficult negotiations ahead," Peskov said in the interview, published on social media.

Peskov said the "main" focus in its talks with the United States would be a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian farm exports via the Black Sea.

"On Monday, we mainly intend to discuss President Putin's agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem," Peskov said.

Moscow pulled out of the deal -- brokered by Turkey and the United Nations -- in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia's own exports of farm produce and fertilisers.

A senior Ukrainian official previously told AFP that Kyiv would propose a broader ceasefire, covering attacks on energy facilities, infrastructure and naval strikes.

Both sides launched fresh drone attacks on the eve of the negotiations.

Deadly attack on Kyiv 

Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone attack overnight Saturday killed three civilians in Kyiv, including a five-year-old girl and her father.

AFP reporters in the capital saw emergency workers treating the wounded early Sunday in front of damaged residential buildings hit in the strike.

Deadly strikes on the well-protected city are rarer than elsewhere in the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his country's allies to put fresh pressure on Russia.

"New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to bring an end to these strikes and this war," he posted on social media on Sunday.

Moscow heads into the Saudi talks after a rapprochement with Washington under Trump that has boosted confidence in the Kremlin.

Peskov said Sunday that the "potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in a wide variety of spheres between our countries cannot be overstated".

"We may disagree on some things but that does not mean we should deprive ourselves of mutual benefit," he added.

SANAA — Yemen's Huthi rebels said one person had been killed and 13 others injured in strikes late Sunday on the capital Sanaa that they blamed on the United States.

"A citizen was killed and 13 others were injured including three children in the final toll of the US aggression on a residential building in the Aser area," in Sanaa, said Huthi health ministry spokesperson Anees Alasbahi in a statement.

An AFP correspondent in that area of Sanaa saw the remains of a building destroyed in an apparent strike.

Earlier, Huthi media had reported US strikes on a residential building in Sanaa as well as in the group's rebel heartland of Saada.

The United States did not immediately confirm whether it had conducted strikes on Sanaa, but a defence official told AFP: "CENTCOM (US Central Command) is conducting strikes across multiple locations of Iran-backed Huthi locations every day and night in Yemen."

On March 15 the United States announced a new military offensive promising to use overwhelming force until the rebels stop firing on vessels in the key shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

That day saw a wave of US air strikes that officials said killed senior Huthi leaders, and which the rebels' health ministry said killed 53 people.

The Huthis targeted ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the start of the Gaza war until a ceasefire began in January, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Earlier this month, they threatened to renew attacks on shipping in the vital maritime trade route over Israel's aid blockade on the Palestinian territory, triggering the first US strikes on Yemen since President Donald Trump took office in January.

The rebels have also claimed attacks targeting Israel in recent days, vowing to escalate after the resumption of massive military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Attacks by Huthi rebels in Yemen have forced three-fourths of US-flagged ships to avoid the Red Sea and instead take the long and expensive detour around the southern tip of Africa, the US national security advisor said Sunday.

"Seventy-five percent of our US flag shipping now has to go around the southern coast of Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal," Mike Waltz told CBS's "Face the Nation."

He added: "The last time one of our destroyers went through the straits there, it was attacked 23 times."

OCCUPIED — The Israeli military on Sunday said it had encircled a district in Rafah in southern Gaza where it had earlier warned civilians to leave.

Israeli troops have "in recent hours" encircled Tal Al Sultan in Rafah, the military said in a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel had warned residents of the area to evacuate.

In a statement on X, military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army "launched an offensive to strike the terrorist organisations" in Rafah's Tal Al Sultan district.

Adraee called on Palestinians in the area to leave the "dangerous combat zone" and move further north.

Leaflets bearing the same message were dropped over Tal Al Sultan by drone, AFP correspondents said.

Earlier, an Israeli strike on a tent encampment in Al Mawasi, in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis area, killed senior Hamas official Salah Al Bardawil and his wife, the Islamist movement said in a statement on Sunday.

Bardawil, a well-known Hamas figure, was a member of the movement's political bureau and the Palestinian Legislative Council -- the Palestinian Authority's parliament which has not met since 2007.

The Israeli military also announced on Sunday that it was conducting operations in Beit Hanun, in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Israel, vowing to destroy Hamas, on Tuesday resumed intense bombardment of Gaza and redeployed ground troops, shattering a truce that had largely held since January 19.

Before its renewed assault, Israel in early March blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza and cut electricity supplies, in a bid to force Hamas to accept the Israeli terms for an extension of the ceasefire and release the 58 hostages still held by Palestinian fighters since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

The electricity supplied by Israel had fed Gaza's main water desalination plant, and the decision to cut power has aggravated already dire conditions for Gaza's 2.4 million people.

Rafah, on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, was already the target of a major Israeli offensive about a year ago.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon's health ministry said one person was killed Sunday in an Israeli drone strike, a day after the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire in the war with Hizbollah.

"The Israeli enemy raid with a drone on a car in Aita Al Shaab led to the death of one citizen," the health ministry said, after the official National News Agency (NNA) had reported the strike on the southern village.

The Israeli military later said in a statement it had "attacked and eliminated" a Hezbollah member "in the area of Aita Al Shaab".

NNA also reported separate Israeli strikes on Sunday on Naqurah, Shihin and Labbouneh in the south near the Israeli border.

Saturday saw the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire halted the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hizbollah.

The Lebanese health ministry said seven people were killed Saturday, including in an attack on Tyre that a security source told AFP targeted a Hizbollah official.

Israel has said the strikes were "a response to rocket fire towards Israel".

Hezbollah denied any involvement in the rocket fire, and called Israel's accusations "pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon".

On Sunday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the Israeli strikes as "extensive military aggression" and slammed the country as "a real threat to international peace and security".

The November ceasefire brought relative calm after a year of hostilities, including two months of open war, between Israel and Hizbollah.

Israel has continued to strike Lebanon since the ceasefire, targeting what it said were Hezbollah military sites that violated the agreement.

Under the ceasefire, Hizbollah is supposed to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Israel is supposed to withdraw its forces across the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, but has missed two deadlines to do so and continues to hold five positions it deems "strategic".

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military on Sunday urged residents of the southern Gaza city of Rafah to evacuate as forces launched an offensive against militants in the area.

Hamas also said a senior Hamas official was killed in an Israeli strike.

In a statement on X, military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army "launched an offensive to strike the terrorist organisations" in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan district.

Adraee called on Palestinians there to leave the "dangerous combat zone" and move further north.

Leaflets bearing the same message were dropped over Tal al-Sultan by drone, AFP correspondents said.

Earlier, an Israeli strike on a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis area, killed senior Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil and his wife, the Islamist movement said in a statement Sunday.

Bardawil, a well-known Hamas figure, was a member of the movement's political bureau and the Palestinian Legislative Council,  the Palestinian Authority's parliament which has not met since 2007.

The Israeli military also announced on Sunday that it was conducting operations in Beit Hanun, in the north of the Gaza Strip.

"During the operation, fighter jets struck several Hamas targets," the army said in a statement.

Israel, vowing to destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas, on Tuesday resumed intense bombardment of Gaza and redeployed ground troops, shattering a truce that had largely held since January 19.

Before its renewed assault, Israel in early March blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza and cut electricity supply, in a bid to force Hamas to accept the Israeli terms for an extension of the ceasefire and release the 58 hostages still held by Palestinian militants since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

The electricity supplied by Israel had fed Gaza's main water desalination plant, and the decision to cut power has aggravated already dire conditions for Gaza's 2.4 million people.

Rafah, on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, was already the target of a major Israeli offensive about a year ago.