Scores killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on first day of Eid, including children

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The Kurdish-led administration in northwestern Syria on Sunday rejected the legitimacy of the new interim government formed by the Islamist coalition that toppled longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad in December.

"Any government that does not reflect the country's diversity and plurality cannot ensure proper governance of Syria," it said in a statement a day after the announcement of the government's formation.

"As a result, we do not consider ourselves bound by the implementation or enforcement of decisions made by this government," the statement added.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday announced a transitional government replacing the caretaker authorities in place since Assad's ouster.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of 14 rescuers killed in Israeli military fire on ambulances in the Gaza Strip one week ago.

"The number of recovered bodies has risen to 14 so far, including eight EMTs (emergency medical technicians) from the Palestine Red Crescent teams, five civil defence personnel and an employee from the United Nations agency," the group said in a statement, referring to those killed when Israeli forces had fired at ambulances on March 23.

It did not specify which UN agency the deceased employee had worked for.

The Israeli military acknowledged its troops had opened fire on ambulances after identifying them as "suspicious vehicles".

On Saturday, the Red Crescent had accused Israeli authorities of refusing to allow search operations to locate its crew.

The Israeli army carried out dozens of attacks on south Lebanon on Sunday, including the firing of nearly 10 phosphorous bombs near the border village of Al-Wazzani.

The commander of the Israeli Northern Command said: "We continue to work to monitor and thwart any plot or intention that threatens the residents of north, and we will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild itself."

US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened Iran with bombings and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme.

In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said US and Iranian officials were talking but did not elaborate.

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump said. "But there's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago."

The Lebanese army has gathered clues indicating the party behind the launch of rockets on northern Israel earlier this week, a security source told Al Hadath TV.

The source said the army has arrested a number of Syrian and Palestinian individuals suspected to be behind the rocket attack on Kiryat Shmona, the second attack on the Galilee from southern Lebanon in less than a week.

The source added that the Lebanese army was continuing to implement the ceasefire agreement "away from the media."

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks, but they come as Israel continues to violate the 27 November ceasefire. On Friday, it struck an area south of Beirut for the first time since the deal.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the fate of nine of its paramedics remains unknown for the eighth consecutive day after Israeli forces opened fire on them, wounding several of them before the PRCS lost contact with them.

"We are shocked that the [Israeli] occupation forces targeted our paramedics while they were performing their humanitarian work, despite them wearing the Red Crescent emblem, which is protected under international laws, including international humanitarian law," PRCS said in a statement shared on its account on X.

"Not knowing the fate of our paramedic colleagues is a great tragedy not only for us at the Red Crescent, but also for humanitarian work and humanity. We hold the occupation authorities fully responsible, and we call on the international community to pressure them to reveal the fate of the missing crew."

The Prisoners' Information Office in Gaza reported the arrival of five prisoners to the European Hospital east of Khan Younis, after Israeli authorities released them via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Another Israeli deadly attack in Khan Younis has hit a camp in Gaza's main southern city.

The attack killed two people and injured 10, Al Jazeera reported.

Further south in the town of ash-Shawka, near Rafah, a strike on a home killed another Palestinian, according to the Wafa news agency.

Iran’s president said Sunday that Tehran had rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter from President Donald Trump over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The remarks from President Masoud Pezeshkian represented the first official acknowledgment of how Iran responded to Trump’s letter. It also suggests that tensions may further rise between Tehran and Washington.

Pezeshkian said: "Although the possibility of direct negotiations between the two sides has been rejected in this response, it has been emphasized that the path for indirect negotiations remains open."

It’s unclear, however, whether Trump would accept indirect negotiations. Indirect negotiations for years since Trump initially withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 have been unsuccessful.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel's intensified military pressure on Hamas in Gaza has been effective, stressing the Palestinian group must lay down its arms.

"We are negotiating under fire... We can see cracks beginning to appear" in what the group demanded in its negotiations, Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.

He rejected claims Israel was not interested in discussing a deal that would secure the release of captives still held in Gaza, but insisted Hamas must surrender its weapons.

"We are willing. Hamas must lay down its arms... Its leaders will be allowed to leave" from Gaza, he said.

He added that Israel would ensure overall security in Gaza and "enable the implementation of the Trump plan - the voluntary migration plan".

Turkey welcomes the formation of a transitional government in Syria, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, adding the move was a sign that Syria's new rulers had an inclusive approach to the leadership of the country.

The ministry said in a statement the international community needed to increase efforts to support Syria, including by fully lifting sanctions so rebuilding can start. It said Turkey, one of the main power brokers in Syria following former president Bashar al-Assad's toppling by rebels, would continue supporting the "comprehensive and inclusive" transition period.

The Israeli prime minister said Sunday that the Lebanese government was responsible for any missiles launched from its territory, saying Israel "will not allow" any attacks against it.

Netanyahu's remarks come after two rocket attacks from south Lebanon on northern Israel this month which no one has claimed responsibility for. Israel responded with deadly strikes, including one on Beirut's southern suburbs for the first time since a November ceasefire.

But Israel has continued to violate the ceasefire agreement since day one, carrying out near-daily attacks and still occupying parts of south Lebanon.

Yemen's Houthis on Sunday said they fired a ballistic missile on Israel's Ben Gurion international airport, in their continued support for Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli army said earlier Sunday that it intercepted a projectile from Yemen.

Around 120,000 worshippers gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers, according to the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem, amid tight Israeli restrictions and growing calls across the occupied West Bank for solidarity with Gaza.

Despite the heavy presence of Israeli forces and restrictions at checkpoints, large crowds flocked to the mosque's compound.

Some Palestinians were barred from entering and had to perform prayers outside the mosque's walls.

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The death from an Israeli airstrike Sunday morning on a tent housing displaced people in Gaza's Khan Younis has risen to 10, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Hungary on April 2, his office announced on Sunday, defying an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

During his visit, Netanyahu is set to hold talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other senior Hungarian officials before returning to Israel on April 6.

A senior Hamas official announced on Saturday that the group has accepted a ceasefire proposal presented by international mediators, but warned the group would not hand over the Gaza Strip to any "unknown party" that serves the interests of the Israeli occupation.

Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group had shown flexibility and agreed to the latest proposal in good faith, but accused Israel of continuing to stall and evade its obligations to prolong the war.

Read the full story here.

Israeli forces raided multiple homes in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday, breaking down doors and ransacking properties, according to the Wafa news agency.

Three individuals were arrested during the raid, including a 16-year-old boy and two former detainees. Israeli troops also erected additional checkpoints and blocked several roads in and around the city.

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs reported that Israeli authorities refused to fully open the Ibrahimi Mosque to worshippers for Eid al-Fitr prayers.

Hebron, located in the southern West Bank, is home to around 400 Israeli settlers who live under heavy military protection, with an estimated 1,500 soldiers stationed in the area.

Gaza’s bakeries will run out of flour for bread within a week, the U.N. says. Agencies have cut food distributions to families in half. Markets are empty of most vegetables. Many aid workers cannot move around because of Israeli bombardment.

For four weeks, Israel has shut off all sources of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies for the Gaza Strip’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians. It’s the longest blockade yet of Israel’s 17-month-old war, with no sign of it ending.

Aid workers are stretching out the supplies they have but warn of a catastrophic surge in severe hunger and malnutrition. Eventually, food will run out completely if the flow of aid is not restored, because the war has destroyed almost all local food production in Gaza.

Read the full story here.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Sunday after it activated air raid sirens across multiple areas of the country.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF (air force) prior to crossing into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

The Iran-backed Houthis have regularly fired missiles at Israel and targeted shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since the war in Gaza began. They say are acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The rebels had paused their campaign during the weeks-long truce in Gaza, which ended on March 18 when Israel resumed its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.