Around the world, Jews left empty seats at their Seder tables as they marked Passover — the religious celebration of the Jewish people’s freedom from slavery in Egypt. The vacant chairs served as a reminder of the more than 130 hostages still captive in Gaza.

The United Nations is calling for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. A U.N. spokesman said Tuesday that credible investigators must have access to the sites.

Construction has yet to start on a temporary floating pier off Gaza’s coast, but the Pentagon expects it will be ready to flow new aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave in the coming weeks, the Defense Department’s top spokesman said.

The director-general of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service says the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the destruction of a Quran outside parliament last year are “trigger events” for extremists, and he noted that the agency is working closely with French authorities to prevent incidents during the Paris Olympics.

In 2021, three brothers were forced to flee their homeland with their parents, one who worked with the U.S. Army, when the United States pulled the last of its troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in much of the region. They settled in Maryland, where the three brothers have found a place with a lacrosse team.

The State Department’s annual human rights report cited several reported rights violations committed in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in 2023 by parties including the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hamas militants and the Palestinian Authority, before and after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks plunged the Middle East into heightened instability and violence.

A fighter jet from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria destroyed a militant rocket launcher after a failed attack Sunday near a base in Syria hosting U.S. troops.

Satellite photos taken Monday suggest an apparent Israeli retaliatory strike targeting Iran’s central city of Isfahan hit a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery, contradicting repeated denials by officials in Tehran of any damage in the assault.

A lawyer for the military contractor being sued by three survivors of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq told jurors Monday that the plaintiffs are suing the wrong people.

European Union foreign and defense ministers secured a political agreement on Monday to impose new sanctions on Iran over its attack on Israel.

An independent review of the neutrality of the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees found that Israel never expressed concern about anyone on the staff lists it has received annually since 2011.

By the weekend, the immediate threat of escalation seemed to have been lifted between Iran and Israel. But there’s less reason for optimism when it comes to Gaza.

Pakistan security forces killed 11 militants in two raids Monday targeting their hideouts in the volatile northwest region bordering Afghanistan.

The head of Israeli military intelligence said Monday he would resign because of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, becoming the first senior figure to step down over his role in the stunning failure to anticipate or quickly respond to the deadliest assault in Israel’s history.

A Palestinian woman was 30 weeks pregnant when an Israeli airstrike hit her home. Medical workers performed an emergency cesarean section. Her baby came into the world seconds after her mother left it.

Israeli leaders on Sunday harshly criticized an expected decision by the U.S. to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military.

Analysts believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on and inflames the wider region.

A maritime convoy with more than 5,000 tons of aid for Gaza is preparing to set sail from Turkey in the coming days.

Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 22 people, including 18 children, health officials said Sunday.