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UK urges 'all parties' to de-escalate Mideast violence

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Friday appealed on "all parties" to de-escalate after Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in retaliation for several dozen rockets fired from both territories.

"Now is the time for all parties across the region to de-escalate tensions," he said, condemning rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza and southern Lebanon, and noting London recognizes "Israel's right to self-defense."

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2 Israelis killed in West Bank shooting attack

An alleged Palestinian shooting attack in the northern occupied West Bank killed two Israeli women and seriously wounded another, Israeli medics said, the latest violence after Israeli warplanes struck southern Lebanon in a significant escalation.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said that two women in their 20s were killed and another woman in her 40s was seriously wounded near the settlement of Hamra in the Jordan Valley. The medics said they pulled the three unconscious women out of their car, which had apparently crashed after a Palestinian allegedly opened fire at it from a nearby vehicle. The Israeli military said security forces were searching for the attacker.

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Israel bombards Lebanon, Gaza after rocket fire from both

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip and Lebanon before dawn on Friday, saying it was targeting Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for several dozen rockets fired at Israel from both territories.

It was the biggest salvo fired from Lebanon since Israel fought a devastating 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006 and the first time Israel has confirmed an attack on Lebanese territory since April 2022.

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Israel begins airstrikes in Gaza after Lebanon rocket fire

The Israeli military struck targets in the Gaza Strip early Friday, pushing the region toward a wider conflagration after a day of rocket fire along Israel's northern and southern borders following two days of unrest at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site. Gaza militants quickly fired off a new barrage of rockets, setting off air raid sirens across southern Israel.

The Israeli airstrikes set off at least four loud explosions in Gaza. The Israeli military said it struck a pair of tunnels and two weapons-manufacturing sites.

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Hamas says Palestinians will respond to Israel's al-Aqsa aggression

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday Palestinians "will not sit with their arms crossed" in the face of Israeli "aggression" against the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

He was speaking in Beirut after Israel blamed Palestinian militants for firing a barrage of rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel.

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Netanyahu vows enemies will 'pay price' after Lebanon rockets

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed Israel's enemies would "pay a price" following a barrage of rockets from Lebanon that was blamed on Palestinian groups.

"We will strike our enemies and they will pay the price for any act of aggression," Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting, according to a short video statement released by his office.

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Canada repatriates 14 women, children from Syria camp

Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have handed over four women and 10 children to a Canadian delegation in readiness for their repatriation, a Kurdish official said.

Western governments have faced mounting criticism for not taking back more of their citizens who traveled to Iraq and Syria to volunteer for the Islamic State group and the Canadian government was successfully sued.

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Thousands still missing from 20 years of Iraq's turmoil

Nawal Sweidan quietly folded her son's clothes and straightened the bedsheets in his room as she always used to do when he was out at work or at university. She still does it regularly, even though he hasn't been home for almost 10 years since he was taken away by militiamen.

Her son Safaa vanished in late July 2014. At around 1:30 a.m., just days before the holy month of Ramadan was to end and holiday celebrations were to begin, a group of men showed up at the family's doorstep and asked for Safaa, a law student and postal carrier in his early 20s.

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Rockets fired from Gaza raise tension as Passover begins

Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens in southern Israel, as violence erupted for the second day in a row during a sensitive period of overlapping holidays.

The barrage came after another tense night at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where Israeli police clashed with Muslim worshippers attempting to stay overnight, in defiance of long-standing compromises about management of the compound. The Israeli military said seven rockets launched from the Gaza Strip all exploded in midair. No group claimed responsibility for the barrage.

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Iran, Saudi Arabia vow to bring Mideast 'security, stability'

Top diplomats from Middle East rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia met in Beijing on Thursday, resuming diplomatic relations and pledging to work together to bring "security and stability" to their turbulent region.

In a joint statement released after talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the two sides vowed to continue to work together to improve ties.

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