Baghdad (AP): Protesters gathered at Iraq's border crossing with Jordan on Friday to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and call for an end to Israel's blockade, while in Indonesia's capital, demonstrators marched from several mosques to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to denounce American support for Israel and demand an end to Israeli airstrikes.

Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats and their family members from India after it threatened to strip them of their diplomatic immunity, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has said, amid a diplomatic row over the killing of a Sikh separatist.

Israel's defense minister told ground troops to be ready to enter the Gaza Strip, though he didn't say when the invasion will start.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday conveyed condolences to President of Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and reiterated India's long-standing "principled position" on the Israel-Palestine issue.

In a phone conversation, Modi, at the same time, shared with Abbas India's "deep concern" over terrorism, violence and deteriorating security situation in the region.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Britain is standing by Israel in its "darkest hour" as it wages war on Hamas following the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack.

US President Joe Biden Wednesday said that based on what he saw, it appears that the deadly explosion at the Gaza hospital was done by "the other team" and not the Israeli military, accepting the Israeli version that a "misfired" rocket by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was responsible for the tragedy.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he supports a two-state solution so that Israel and the Palestinian people can both live safely and securely in dignity and in peace as he announced USD 100 million for humanitarian aid in the war-torn Gaza and the West Bank.

 The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to adopt a Brazil-led draft resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to allow full access for aid to the Gaza strip after the US vetoed the text.

The US, a permanent member of the UNSC and a close ally of Israel, said it is disappointed the resolution makes no mention of Israel's rights of self-defence.