The Israeli security cabinet has approved a massive aerial bombardment on Gaza, Israeli media reported on Monday. According to Yedioth Ahronoth daily, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has also declared a state of emergency in the area up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) around the Gaza Strip. This gives the Israeli forces the authority to impose restrictions on gatherings and evacuate residents from the mentioned area. According to public broadcaster KAN, the Israeli army on Monday evening threatened Hamas that the response to the rocket fired from the Gaza Strip would be “sharp and will not last minutes but days.”

At least 14 Palestinians were injured late Sunday in clashes with Israeli police in East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Four of those injured in the Israeli attacks near Damascus Gate and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood were hospitalized, it said in a statement. The statement added that Israeli police used stun grenades and rubber bullets against Palestinians. A health professional was also injured when Israeli forces targeted an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent with rubber bullets and stun grenades during clashes in the At-Tur neighborhood, it added. Two journalists were also among those injured during

Expressing shock over killings in Kabul in a string of blasts on Saturday, China linked the rise in attacks across Afghanistan to “abrupt US forces withdrawal” from the war-torn country. “It needs to be pointed out that the recent abrupt US announcement of complete withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has led to a succession of explosive attacks throughout the country, worsening the security situation and threatening peace and stability as well as people’s life and safety,” Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a statement released late Sunday. At least 58 were killed in bombings on Saturday evening

The downward trend in the number of daily cases in Turkey continued on Monday as the country reported over 13,600 new coronavirus cases, according to the Health Ministry data. A total of 13,604 cases, including 1,734 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country, the data showed. Turkey’s overall case tally is over 5.04 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 43,311, with 282 fatalities over the past day. As many as 26,953 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 4.74 million. More than 49.60 million coronavirus tests

The biased stance of the European Union on Cyprus harms the efforts to reach a solution, the Turkish Cypriot president said on Sunday. President Ersin Tatar issued a message on the occasion of Europe Day, which is celebrated every year on May 9. “We regret to see that the EU has shifted away and acted against its basic principles on its perspective on the Cyprus issue,” said Tatar in a message. He added: “The bias of the EU on Cyprus is alarming and harms the efforts for a solution.” Tatar went on to say that the Greek Cypriot administration is

Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza on Monday gave Israel an ultimatum to withdraw its forces from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem until this evening. “The resistance leadership in the joint operation room gives the [Israeli] occupation an ultimatum until 06:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) to withdraw its soldiers from the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and to release detained Palestinians in the recent Jerusalem uprising, otherwise forewarned is forearmed,” said Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of Hamas’s military wing. At least 305 people were injured as Israeli police on Monday stormed the Al-Aqsa

Eleven villagers were killed on Sunday in an armed attack in Nigeria’s northern Katsina state, according to police. Armed men arrived on motorcycles in the afternoon at the Tsatskiya village, firing at random. Eleven villagers lost their lives in the attack, three people were injured, and hundreds fled their homes. Katsina State Police spokesman Isah Gambo confirmed the attack and said security forces had been dispatched to the area. The use of motorcycles has been banned in some states in Nigeria due to recent attacks in the country by gunmen. The northern part of the West African country has been