Contemporary history

36 more islands will be Covid-free by the end of May

Weary Palestinians on May 13 prepared for a somber feast marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Gaza braced for more Israeli airstrikes and communal violence raged after weeks of protests and violence in Jerusalem.

Recent Israeli attacks on Gaza City have killed three more Palestinians, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement on May 13.

The deadly exchange of fire between Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli military has escalated significantly, with the UN fearing a "full-scale war".

More than 1,000 rockets have now been fired by Palestinian militants, Israel says.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes, destroying two tower blocks in Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Israel has declared a state of emergency in the central city of Lod after rioting by Israeli Arabs, as conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants intensified.

Cars were set alight and a father and daughter - both Israeli Arabs - died when a rocket from Gaza hit their car.

The clashes between the Palestinians and the Israelis have been going on for more than 48 hours, which have escalated into a very serious conflict, due to which an emergency session of the UN Security Council was convened. Rockets fly from both sides and hit targets, killing the civilians.

At least five PKK terrorists were "neutralized" in airstrikes during Turkey's anti-terror operations in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry said on May 11 evening.

After being found in the Avasin-Basyan region, the terrorists were neutralized by the Turkish Air Force as part of Operation Pençe-Yıldırım, the ministry said on Twitter.

Israeli warplanes on May 12 launched violent attacks on the security centers and police headquarters of Palestinian resistance groups in the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of bombs were dropped within a few minutes in the south, north, and central parts of the Gaza Strip, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkey will keep a close eye on the course the number of daily cases will take in the days ahead to decide whether to ease anti-virus measures as the country sees a decline in cases amid measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

A group of 13 armed speedboats of Iran's Revolutionary Guard made "unsafe and unprofessional" high-speed maneuvers toward U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on May 10, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots when two of the Iranian boats came dangerously close, U.S. officials said.

India's coronavirus crisis showed scant sign of easing on May 11, with a seven-day average of new cases at a record high and international heath authorities warning the country's variant of the virus poses a global concern.