Armenia announced Friday its recognition of the State of Palestine, the latest country to do so during the war in Gaza, saying it was against "violence towards civilian populations."

"Based on the above and confirming its commitment to international law, equality of nations, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the State of Palestine," Yerevan said.

New tensions emerged this week between President Joe Biden's administration and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli premier's criticism of U.S. weapons deliveries -- comments the White House described Thursday as "vexing" and "disappointing."

The issue began when Netanyahu claimed in a video posted on social media earlier this week that the U.S. administration -- Israel's main military backer -- has been "withholding weapons and ammunitions" from his country in recent months.

Fahd Ramadhan spent years building a life as a refugee in the Netherlands, only to have it unravel with his surprise arrest on a trip to his birthplace Saudi Arabia.

A Swedish court on Thursday acquitted a former Syrian army general accused of playing a role in war crimes in his home country more than a decade ago.

Fears of a regional war rose Thursday after Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement said none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict, and Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive.

Experts are divided on the prospect of wider war, almost nine months into Israel's vow to eradicate Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of people died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced intense high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom, officials said Wednesday as people tried to claim their loved ones' bodies.

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the death toll amid the heat during the pilgrimage, required of every able Muslim once in their life, nor offered any causes for those who died. However, hundreds of people had lined up at the Emergency Complex in Al-Muaisem neighborhood in Mecca, trying to get information about their missing family members.

The Israeli army's chief spokesman has appeared to question the stated goal of destroying the Hamas militant group in Gaza in a rare public rift between the country's political and military leadership.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the fight against Hamas, the group running the besieged Gaza Strip, until its military and governing capabilities in the Palestinian territory are eliminated. But with the war now in its ninth month, frustration has been mounting with no clear end or postwar plan in sight.

The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the devastating eight-month-long war and free hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack.

American forces destroyed two sites in Yemen belonging to the Houthi rebels, the U.S. military said Wednesday, after a series of ship attacks in recent days by the group.

The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in attacks they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli air strikes and clashes between troops and Palestinian militants rocked Gaza on Wednesday, as Israel's army warned it had readied an "offensive" against the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on the country's northern front.

The army's announcement that its plans for an offensive in Lebanon had been approved, along with a warning from Foreign Minister Israel Katz of Hezbollah's destruction in a "total war", came as U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited the region to push for de-escalation.