Israel carried out deadly strikes in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, first responders in the Palestinian territory said yesterday, as violence flared in the occupied West Bank.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the country’s armed forces for their “success” in his first public comments since Tehran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel last week.

The Gaza offensive is speeding up Israel’s “annexation” of the Palestinian economy, say analysts, who argue it has been hobbled for decades by agreements that followed the Oslo peace accords.

Iran has dismissed as akin to child’s play Israel’s reported retaliation for an unprecedented Iranian strike, as both sides yesterday appeared to step back from wider conflict stemming from the war in Gaza.

One person was killed and eight wounded in an overnight explosion at an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, officials said Saturday.

The Israeli army yesterday said troops had killed 10 militants in an ongoing raid around Nur Shams, a refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

When record downpours sent water flooding into his Dubai home, Riaz Haq expected the levels to drop once it stopped raining. But instead of falling, the water kept rising higher

World leaders appealed for calm Friday after reported Israeli retaliation against Iran added to months of tense spillover from the war in Gaza, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in a central province

Explosions echoed over an Iranian city yesterday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.

The United States on Thursday effectively stopped the United Nations from recognising a Palestinian state by casting a veto in the Security Council to deny Palestinians full membership of the world body.

Iran’s first direct attack on Israel on April 13 has brought renewed focus on their air-defence capabilities as Israeli leaders decide how best to respond. Below is a look at both countries’ air forces and aerial defence systems:

The limited nature of Israel’s reported strike on Iran and the restrained immediate Iranian reaction shows both sides, in particular Tehran, are looking to de-escalate after weeks of tensions but the situation remains dangerously explosive, analysts say.

Explosions echoed over an Iranian city on Friday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.

The United States received advance notice of Israel's reported strike on Iran but did not endorse the operation or play any part in its execution, US media quoted officials as saying

Iran's state media reported explosions in central Isfahan Friday, as US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival

Israel launched more deadly strikes on besieged Gaza yesterday as Western governments unveiled sweeping sanctions against Iran’s military drone programme in response to the country’s unprecedented attack on its arch enemy Israel.

A storm hit the United Arab Emirates and Oman this week bringing record rainfall that flooded highways, inundated houses, grid-locked traffic and trapped people in their homes

Israel has clearly decided to retaliate against Iran for missile and drone attacks, Britain’s Foreign Minister David Cameron said during a visit to Jerusalem yesterday, the starkest warning yet of another volley coming in regional escalation.

Dubai’s giant highways were clogged by flooding and airport passengers were urged to stay away yesterday as the glitzy financial centre reeled from record rains.

Israeli air strikes hit a playground and busy market in Maghazi refugee camp. Another strike on Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood killed at least seven people and wounded 20 others.