Egypt's interior ministry said Sunday 18 suspected militants were killed in North Sinai in a firefight with security forces, two days after a deadly blast claimed by the Islamic State group.

Israel's top court will consider Sunday whether to block the coalition government agreed between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz, a case that could force another election.

A cousin who has been a bulwark of support for President Bashar Assad posted a video on Facebook late Thursday pleading with the Syrian leader to prevent the collapse of his major telecommunication company through what he called excessive and "unjust" taxation.

The unprecedented video pries open what has been rumored as a major rift in the tight-knit Assad family, which has ruled Syria for nearly 50 years.

The Egyptian army killed two suspected jihadists Friday in restive North Sinai, a day after a blast targeted an armoured vehicle, a military spokesman said.

Twenty-three staff at a hospital in Qatar were injured when tents being used to boost capacity in response to coronavirus collapsed in a fierce storm, local media reported Friday.

Israeli helicopters fired missiles at sites in southern Syria overnight, Syrian state media reported early Friday, days after similar air strikes were blamed on Israel.

Libya's U.N.-recognized government on Thursday rejected a truce unilaterally called the day before by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, saying it "did not trust" its eastern-based rival.

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would keep the US embassy in Israel in Jerusalem if elected -- even though he disagrees with Donald Trump's controversial 2017 decision to move it out of Tel Aviv.

Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar said Wednesday his forces would cease hostilities for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following international calls for a truce in the war-torn country.

Yemen's internationally recognized government on Wednesday reported five new coronavirus cases amid warnings by health and aid organisations the pandemic could have dire consequences in the war-ravaged country.