Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza exchanged heavy fire Tuesday, killing at least 26 Palestinians and two Israelis, in an escalation sparked by violent unrest at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Nine children were among those killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip that is controlled by Hamas and 125 people there were wounded, local health authorities said.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that Israel would step up attacks on Gaza's rulers Hamas after two Israeli women were killed by rockets fired from the enclave.

"Since yesterday, the army has carried out hundreds of attacks against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza... and we will further intensify the power of our attacks," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office, adding that Hamas "will be hit in ways that it does not expect."

Amnesty International said Israel is using "abusive and wanton force against largely peaceful Palestinian protesters" in east Jerusalem clashes that have wounded hundreds of demonstrators and dozens of police.

Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani landed in Saudi Arabia for talks Monday, in his second visit since the countries re-established relations in January following a bitter three-year feud.

Hamas militants fired a large barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, including one that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.

The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem that have threatened to become a wider conflict.

Markets in Yemen's embattled Marib city are bustling with people gearing up for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, despite fighting that has raged nearby between government forces and Huthi rebels.

Journalist Ahmed Hassan, targeted in an assassination attempt Monday in southern Iraq, has undergone brain surgery and remains in critical condition, a Baghdad hospital said.

Iran's foreign ministry Monday for the first time confirmed the Islamic republic is holding talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia, but said it is "too soon" to discuss the results.

Turkey on Monday called Israel an "apartheid state" that must end "heinous and cruel attacks" against Palestinians, as clashes raged at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said hundreds had been wounded in new clashes on Monday that came ahead of a planned march marking Israel's 1967 takeover of the holy city.

Hundreds were wounded in new clashes Monday between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem as a planned march marking Israel's 1967 takeover of the holy city threatened to further inflame tensions.