JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said on Tuesday that it had started "a precise counterterrorism operation" in Rafah city in the south of the Gaza Strip and assumed "operational control" over the Rafah crossing in Gaza.

JERUSALEM -- Israel came to a halt to the sound of sirens on Monday morning to commemorate the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust on the country's national Holocaust Remembrance Day.

At 10 a.m. (0700 GMT), as the two-minute sirens pierced the air, people across the country stood in solemn silence in honor of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Nazis during World War II.

GAZA/JERUSALEM -- Hamas on Monday said it has told the Egyptian and Qatari sides that the movement approved their proposal regarding a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, while Israel said it is currently studying the response.

AMMAN - The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said on Sunday that it has carried out five airdrops of humanitarian and food aid targeting several locations in northern Gaza Strip.

It has been more than 50 years since the United States saw college students launch anti-Vietnam War protests across the nation.

GAZA -- No positive progress has been made in the Gaza truce talks on Saturday, a source from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that the negotiations encountered challenges due to Israel's insistence on not committing to a (permanent) ceasefire.

GAZA -- An official source from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) told Xinhua on Saturday that the movement will agree to a complete ceasefire deal with Israel "in stages".

CAIRO -- Egyptian mediators and Hamas have reached a consensus on several issues regarding a potential ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian media reported on Saturday.

GAZA -- At least 15 Palestinians were killed Sunday night in Israeli airstrikes on three residential buildings in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported on Monday.

At least 47 people were arrested at Yale University on Monday during pro-Palestinian protests, while new demonstrations broke out at other US campuses over the conflict in Gaza amid growing concerns about the safety of Jewish students.

Senior leaders in the Middle East have appealed to the international community to do more to de-escalate tensions in the region as frustrations grow over the delayed cease-fire and flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza despite resolutions to end the atrocities.

China on Monday expressed deep concern about the escalating tensions in the Middle East and called on all relevant parties to exercise maximum restraint and calm, as Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun met with Ambassador of Israel to China Irit Ben-Abba Vitale.

Zhai elaborated China's principled position on the Gaza conflict, saying bloodshed and conflict do not serve the interests of any party and the immediate priority is for the Gaza Strip to cease fire, ensure humanitarian assistance and promptly release all detained individuals.

GAZA/JERUSALEM — The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, announced on Saturday it has responded to mediators in Egypt and Qatar over a proposed cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and reaffirmed its demands.