KYIV, March 29 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Jordan on Sunday as part of a Gulf tour aimed at shoring up defence ties with countries in the region amid rising tensions over the Iran war.
Zelenskiy is seeking support from Gulf states for Ukraine's war against Russia as Western military aid faces fresh uncertainty and Kyiv struggles to cover its budget deficit and fund domestic weapons production.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
- Trading blows -
The Israeli army said on Monday morning that it was striking Iranian military infrastructure across the Islamic republic's capital.
Shortly after, the army said it was intercepting missiles launched from Iran.
- Peacekeeper killed -
Indonesia confirmed that one of its peacekeepers was killed in Lebanon, after the UN force said a projectile hit one of its positions.
Acutely sensitive to noise because of childhood trauma, Nili stresses when air raid sirens send her into a crowded shelter where her own "internal war" overlaps with the one raging outside.
The experience of Nili, whose name has been changed for this article, highlights the particular vulnerability of people with mental health conditions when dealing with the Middle East war, triggered on February 28 by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The funeral took place on Sunday in Lebanon of three journalists killed by an Israeli strike on the south the previous day, an attack which Beirut called a "blatant crime".
Ali Shoeib, a veteran correspondent for Hezbollah's Al Manar TV, Fatiman Ftouni of the pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen channel and her brother, cameraman Mohammad Ftouni, were all killed when their vehicle was hit in Jezzine in southern Lebanon.
Pakistan said on Sunday that it was ready to broker and host "meaningful talks" between the United States and Iran to bring an end to their war, outlining growing support for its peace efforts, including from the United Nations and China.
The government in Islamabad has emerged as a key facilitator, relaying messages between the two sides to try to stop the conflict from escalating.
By Steve Holland and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - As the war in Iran threatens to imperil President Donald Trump's legacy, the political stakes also are rising for two of his top lieutenants: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The pair, widely viewed as potential successors to Trump, have been thrust into still-developing negotiations to end the war at a moment when the Republican Party is already weighing its post-Trump future.
Israel said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem would regain access to Christianity's holiest site after the decision to block him from entering the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday triggered international condemnation.
Police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the church, citing security concerns as Israel enforces a ban on gatherings in synagogues, churches and mosques during the ongoing war with Iran, which has brought missile strikes near holy sites.
Police have arrested two more people over an apparent bid to explode a homemade device outside the Paris branch of the Bank of America, the French domestic security service said on Sunday.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Saturday he thought the war in the Middle East might have motivated the attempted attack.
Police detained a first suspect, possibly a minor, in the early hours of Saturday just after he placed a device outside the bank building, near the Champs-Elysees.
By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, March 29 (Reuters) - Pope Leo said on Sunday that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have "hands full of blood", in unusually forceful remarks as the Iran war entered its second month.
Addressing tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday, the celebration that opens the holiest week of the year in the lead-up to Easter for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff said that Jesus cannot be used to justify any wars.
CAIRO, March 29 (Reuters) - Two Israeli air strikes on two checkpoints of the Hamas-led police force killed at least six Palestinians including a child, local health officials said, in the latest round of violence despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that is now more than five months old.
Medics said Israeli planes attacked two police checkpoints in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing three policemen and three civilians, including a girl, and wounding four others.
