U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise directive to begin nuclear weapons testing provoked global criticism on Friday, as it raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions.

A Turkish disaster response team is still waiting by the Gaza border for Israeli approval to enter the Palestinian territory to help with search and rescue operations, a defense ministry source said Thursday.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday and discussed bilateral ties with Berlin, which welcomed a large number of Syrian refugees during the country's 14-year civil war.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, dressed in black, rallied in Jerusalem on Thursday to protest against military conscription, an issue that has caused major strain in Israel's right-wing ruling coalition.

Hamas' armed wing said it would hand over the remains of two more hostages on Thursday as demanded under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that officials from Washington and Beijing would be meeting to hash out a possible "energy deal" between the two countries.

"China... agreed that they will begin the process of purchasing American Energy," Trump said on Truth Social following talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday ordered the armed forces to oppose any Israeli incursions in the country's south following an Israeli raid that killed a municipal worker.

Aoun ordered the army to "confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defense of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens", during a meeting with the army chief, according to a statement from the presidency.

Israeli troops killed a Lebanese municipal worker on Thursday during a raid on a border village in the south, state media reported.

The incident in the town of Blida sparked condemnation by Lebanese officials and a protest by residents.

The United Nations on Wednesday called the deaths in Israel's new military strikes on Gaza "appalling", as it urged all sides not to let peace "slip from our grasp".

Napoli midfielder Kevin De Bruyne underwent an operation on his injured hamstring in his native Belgium on Wednesday, the Serie A club announced.