Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar.

Several news outlets reported the military had begun sending the orders for reservists to replace conscripts and active-duty soldiers in Israel and the occupied West Bank so they can be redeployed to Gaza.

Gaza mediator Qatar on Sunday rejected comments from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it needed to "stop playing both sides" in truce negotiations.

Iran defended on Saturday its "right" to enrich uranium despite growing Western concern that Tehran may be seeking nuclear weapons and as talks with the United States were delayed.

Israel launched more than 20 air strikes inside Syria late Friday, a war monitor said, following up an attack near the presidential palace in Damascus which was condemned as a "dangerous escalation" by the country's Islamist rulers.

The strikes came amid Israeli warnings to the Damascus government not to harm the Druze minority, following recent sectarian clashes.

European and Asian markets rose on Friday, tracking Wall Street gains, as China said it was considering a US offer to negotiate steep tariffs.

U.S. markets had forged higher Thursday following strong results from tech giants Microsoft and Meta that helped offset lingering economic worries.

Transgender women have been banned from playing in women's and girls' cricket in England and Wales after the governing body announced a change in policy on Friday.

British comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared in a London court on Friday to face five charges of rape and other sexual offences and said .

Brand, 49, who became known internationally as the husband of pop star Katy Perry after forging a career in Britain with his risque comedy routines, was charged last month.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people Friday in the Palestinian territory, devastated by war and under a total Israeli aid blockade for two months.

Israel's army said Friday it intercepted two missiles fired towards its territory from Yemen within 12 hours, with at least one attack claimed by the Arabian Peninsula country's Houthi rebels.

Lebanese authorities warned Hamas Friday that it would face the "harshest measures" if it carried out any attacks from Lebanon.

The warning by the Higher Defense Council, Lebanon's top military body, came weeks after several Lebanese and Palestinians were detained on suspicion of firing rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel.