Saudi oil giant Aramco said Sunday its net profit rose by 25.5 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, after the Middle East war sent oil and gas prices soaring.

The result comes as uncertainty plagues global markets over the conflict's trajectory, with Iran restricting the passage of hydrocarbons through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

May 10 (Reuters) - Twelve policemen were dead after a car bombing at a police post in northwestern Pakistan followed by a fight with militants in the city of Bannu, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

Three personnel have been found alive and transferred to hospital, the officer added.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)

By Saud Mehsud and Mushtaq Ali

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan May 9 (Reuters) - A car bombing at a police post killed at least three officers in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday and was followed by an ambush on police personnel rushing to the scene to provide backup, security officials said.

Police official Sajjad Khan said most of the 15 officers who were on duty at the post on the outskirts of the city of Bannu were feared dead and that the installation had been destroyed.

May 10 (Reuters) - Israel deported Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Ávila on Sunday after completing an investigation into their participation in a Gaza-bound flotilla, the foreign ministry said.

Israel's foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation and Avila was suspected of illegal activity. Both denied the allegations.

(Reporting by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Kim Coghill)

As fears of renewed conflict hang over Iran, conservationists are shoring up battered historic sites and taking stock of the damage caused by the war with the United States and Israel, though experts warn some repairs could take years.

At Golestan Palace, a defining cultural landmark in central Tehran, shattered mirrors, broken doors and debris from ornate ceilings now lie scattered across parts of the site after shockwaves from strikes on the capital following the outbreak of war on February 28.

BEIRUT, May 9 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Saksakiyeh killed at least seven people, including a child, and wounded 15 on Saturday, Lebanon's health ministry said.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah militants in the town, accusing them of planning attacks against Israeli soldiers.

"The IDF is aware of reports regarding harm to uninvolved civilians in the structure in which the terrorists were struck. The details of the incident are under review," the military said in a statement.

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Britain said on Saturday it was deploying its warship HMS Dragon to the Middle East in preparation for a potential multinational effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.

HMS Dragon, an air defence destroyer, was sent to the Eastern Mediterranean in March, shortly after the start of the Iran war, to help defend Cyprus.

By Mohammed Torokman

ASASA, West Bank, May 9 - Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank forced Palestinians to exhume the body of their father from his freshly dug village grave, his family said, near a settlement re-established by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Hussein Asasa, 80, died on Friday of natural causes and was buried that evening at the cemetery of Asasa village near Jenin, with all the necessary permits from Israel's military, whose forces were at the site, his son Mohammed said.

JERUSALEM, May 9 (Reuters) - Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were travelling on are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention on Saturday, their lawyers said.

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Kuwait drone attack -

The Kuwaiti military said a drone attack at dawn had been repelled.

"At dawn today, the armed forces detected a number of hostile drones in Kuwaiti airspace, which were dealt with in accordance with established procedures," the general staff of the army said on X, without specifying the origin of the drones.

- Ship hit off Qatar -