Israel said Monday it is closing the fishing zone off the already blockaded Gaza Strip, preventing trawlers from going out to sea, after repeated rocket attacks on the Jewish state.

Fresh clashes broke out late Saturday between Palestinians and Israeli police after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for "calm on all sides" after several nights of unrest in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Morocco has summoned the Spanish ambassador in "exasperation" after the leader of the Western Saharan independence movement was allowed into Spain for medical care, an official source told AFP. 

The death of over 80 people in a Baghdad Covid-19 hospital fire was seen by Iraqis Sunday as more proof of the deadly consequences of mismanagement and corruption.

Yemen's Huthi rebels have made important gains in the battle for the government's last northern stronghold, advancing close to the center of Marib city despite heavy casualties, military sources said Sunday.

At least three people died when an Iranian tanker was attacked off Syria's coast, in the first assault of its kind since the war started a decade ago, a war monitor said.

More than 80 people died Sunday in a fire that ripped through an Iraqi Covid-19 hospital, sparking anger and prompting the suspension of top officials in a country with a long-dilapidated health infrastructure. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to visit Iraq and Qatar on Sunday, his ministry announced, following reported talks brokered by Baghdad between Tehran and regional rival Riyadh.

Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip early Saturday after repeated salvos of rocket fire into Israel followed a second night of clashes between Palestinians and police in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Bahrain and Israel have signed an agreement to recognise each other's  Covid vaccinations in a bid to smoothe travel between the two countries which normalised ties last year.