Israel's call Friday for half of the Gaza Strip's population to evacuate south is hiking Egypt's fears of a massive influx of refugees across the heavily fortified border into its territory.

Since Hamas' bloody attack on Israel sparked a massive retaliation in Gaza, Egypt's leadership has frantically tried to negotiate the entry of humanitarian aid through its crossing into the Palestinian territory — partially in hopes of averting an exodus into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Officials say its efforts have received no response from Israel.

A 50-year-old Israeli man who works at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed on Friday in front of a supermarket, Chinese police and the Israeli government said.

Beijing police said they had arrested a suspect, a 53-year-old foreign man. They said the victim is a family member of an Israeli diplomat. No motive was given for the attack.

Protests were staged after Friday prayers in Muslim communities around the world — including Lebanon, Tehran, Baghdad, and Jordan — condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza and showing support for Palestinians in the wake of the deadly surprise attack launched in southern Israel by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Lebanese and Palestinians protested across Lebanon, in Beirut's downtown and in its southern suburb, in Tyre, Sidon, Tripoli and Bekaa, following afternoon prayers Friday, in support of Palestine.

Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah said Friday that the deterrence between his group and Israel has been maintained since a monthlong war in 2006, despite clashes over the past week.

Fadlallah’s comments came minutes after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held separate meetings with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and key ally Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Tens of thousands of Muslims demonstrated Friday across the Middle East in support of the Palestinians and to protest against the Israeli airstrikes pounding the Gaza Strip, underscoring the risk of a wider regional conflict erupting as Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion there.

From Amman, Jordan, to Yemen's capital, Muslims poured out onto the streets after weekly Friday prayers. At Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Israeli police had been permitting only older men, women and children to the sprawling hilltop compound for prayers, trying to prevent the potential for demonstration as tens of thousands attend on a typical Friday.

Will Lebanon's heavily armed Hezbollah join the Israel-Hamas war? The answer could well determine the direction of a battle that is bound to reshape the Middle East.

Hezbollah, which like Hamas is supported by Iran, has so far been on the fence about joining the fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamic militant rulers. For the past six days, Israel has besieged Gaza and hammered the enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians with hundreds of airstrikes in response to a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his record governing the nation for four years without any new wars, and criticized President Joe Biden's foreign policy as the world watches a war that has already claimed 2,300 lives unfold in Gaza, ignited by Hamas' attack on Israel.

Trump and other Republicans have tried to lay blame on the Biden administration, particularly citing the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen assets to Iran, a supporter of Hamas. Administration officials insist that money has not been spent.

Measures of U.S. inflation in September showed that the pace of price increases is still grinding lower, though at a slow and uneven pace.

Prices in the United States increased 0.4% from August to September, a slowdown from the previous month. Thursday's report from the Labor Department also showed that annual consumer inflation in September was unchanged from a 3.7% rise in August.

The English Football Association will pay tribute to the Israeli and Palestinian victims of the war in the Middle East when England hosts Australia in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium on Friday.

Plans, however, do not include lighting up the national stadium's iconic arch in the colors of Israel's flag, despite increasing calls to do so, the FA said Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday on a rare trip abroad for the Russian leader who was indicted earlier this year by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and was to take part on Friday in the Commonwealth of Independent States summit, which Kyrgyzstan is hosting. Leaders of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will also attend the summit.