US President Donald Trump voiced hope on Wednesday that diplomatic efforts would succeed on Iran’s nuclear programme, even as he vowed rigorous enforcement of sanctions.

A global hunger monitor said yesterday that Gaza’s entire population continues to face a critical risk of famine, while half a million people face starvation.

At least 13 people, including three children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip amid a months-long Israeli blockade that has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn coastal enclave.

A Hamas delegation held two meetings with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Doha this week but they produced no breakthrough in the search for a Gaza truce, sources close to the group said yesterday.

Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen yesterday, with AFP journalists reporting explosions heard in the Jerusalem area.

A senior Hamas official said yesterday the group was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza.

Israel’s security cabinet approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Friday, adding to signs that attempts to stop the fighting and return hostages held by Hamas have made no progress.

Iran yesterday defended its “right” to enrich uranium despite growing Western concern that Tehran may be seeking nuclear weapons, and as talks with the United States were delayed.

Israel said it carried out a strike in Syria against "an extremist group" that attacked members of the Druze community, following through on a promise to defend the minority group as deadly sectarian violence spread near Damascus.

Gaza mediator Qatar yesterday said there was some progress in talks in Doha this week aimed at securing a new truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran's biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 40, with more than 1,200 people injured, state media reported on Sunday, as firefighters worked to fully extinguish the fire

Hamas is open to a years-long truce with Israel in Gaza but is not willing to lay down its arms, an official said yesterday, as leaders of the Palestinian Islamist militant group met mediators in Cairo for ceasefire talks.

The United States and Iran reported progress in their latest round of nuclear talks yesterday and agreed to meet again next week as they pursue a deal that could help ease soaring Middle East tensions.

A powerful explosion ripped through a key port in southern Iran yesterday, killing five people and injuring more than 500, state media said.

Several powerful pro-Iran Iraqi politicians have in recent days voiced opposition to a potential visit by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Iraq for the upcoming Arab League summit.

Iran and the United States yesterday agreed to hold another round of talks next week over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Iranian state TV reported, as they ended their second round of negotiations in Rome over their decades-long standoff.

Israeli strikes killed at least 92 people in the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, the health ministry said yesterday, as UN said the tiny Palestinian territory is being subjected to “deprivation by design”.

US strikes on a fuel port in Yemen killed at least 74 people yesterday, Houthi-run media said, one of the deadliest days since the United States began its attacks on the Iran-backed militants.

Lebanon reported two dead in separate Israeli strikes on the country’s south yesterday, as Israel’s military said it had killed a Hezbollah operative, despite a ceasefire between the two sides.

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday called for Asian nations to unite in resisting geopolitical confrontation, unilateralism and protectionism, as he aims to consolidate ties with some of China’s closest neighbours amid a deterioration of relations with the US.