Israel’s prime minister struck a defiant tone against US President Joe Biden after the US withheld a shipment of bombs as a warning to its top Middle East ally not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Donald Trump said “What Biden is doing with respect to Israel is disgraceful,” in reference to the president’s threat to stop sending weapons to Israel as it wages war against the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.

Success of the US$17 billion Iraq Development Road depends on Iraq-Turkey ties, which have been fraught over oil exports and militant issues, analysts say.

It was the latest demonstration of the country’s strong support for Palestinians, which has also driven a boycott movement that has taken a toll on targeted businesses.

Talks are still under way in Egypt as negotiators seek a pause in Israel’s seven-month-old offensive.

Israeli forces massed tanks close to built-up areas of Rafah, after US President Joe Biden vowed to withhold weapons from Israel if its forces launched a major invasion of the southern Gaza city.

So far, 520 bodies have been recovered from seven mass graves found at three different hospitals across Gaza in recent weeks, Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said.

The “murky ecosystem” of buyers, sellers and brokers has also made it hard for public procurement oversight on such purchases, the Amnesty International report said.

The Rafah crossing has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and exit.

The Biden administration has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian have sought refuge from combat elsewhere in Gaza.

Readers discuss the need to stop the anti-war demonstrations from escalating, the morally superior stance of the protesting students, and the difficult choice confronting the government

Analysts say the move is insurance against an accelerating “arms race” in the region, as lessons are learned from recent flare-ups such as Iran’s drone and missile attack against Israel last month.

Beijing and Paris issue statement denouncing planned Israeli offensive against southern Gaza city following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

UN agencies said on Tuesday that the two main crossings into the southern Gaza Strip remain shut, virtually cutting off the enclave from outside aid, with very few stores stationed inside.

Israel sent tanks into Rafah in war-torn Gaza’s far south and took control of the border crossing with Egypt, as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.

The decision to invite Lockheed Martin and BAE to a government-backed expo has raised questions about the consistency of PM Anwar Ibrahim’s criticism of the Gaza war with the actions of his government.

Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.

Bernie Sanders, the longest-serving independent senator in American history, said he will seek a fourth term in an announcement touting his record over 16 years and taking aim at US military funding for Israel.

The Ivy League institution said it would “forego the universitywide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15” and hold a series of smaller events instead.

Aid agencies have warned that the evacuation order will lead to an even worse humanitarian disaster in the crowded coastal enclave of 2.3 million people reeling from seven months of war.

Announcement comes amid fragile Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The funding boost, announced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, comes as concerns rise over threats against Jewish and Muslim communities, fuelled in part by the Israel-Gaza war.

Student protesters at USC abandoned their camp after police surrounded them and threatened activists with arrest. In Boston, Northeastern University’s commencement began peacefully.

Israel’s prime minister denounced a ‘volcano of antisemitism’ and international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Israel’s military said the crossing was immediately closed; it was unclear how long the closure would remain in effect.

Giving in to Hamas would be a huge victory for the group and Iran, and project a ‘terrible weakness’, PM Netanyahu said, while also ordering the closure of ‘incitement’ news channel Al Jazeera.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the two issues were part of an ‘integrated vision’ for peace in the Middle East and could not be disentangled.