Hamas says it has launched a “big” rocket attack at the Tel Aviv area in central Israel, several of which were intercepted by air defence systems, according to the Israeli military.

Hours later, an aid agency said dozens of people had been killed and injured in an Israeli air strike on an area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, which had reportedly been designated a humanitarian zone by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

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Troops went on the offensive on Wednesday against M23 rebel positions in DR Congo’s east, the army announced, as residents reported fighting on several fronts in North Kivu province.

Backed by “wazalendo” or patriotic militia, the army “launched the offensives early this morning May 22,” said FARDC spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike on X, formerly Twitter.

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Somalia’s breakaway province of Somaliland is commemorating the anniversary of its unilateral declaration of independence on May 18, 1991 — even though its claims of sovereignty have remained unrecognized by the international community.

Amid the preparations, Somaliland’s authorities have been preparing to conclude a controversial deal with neighboring Ethiopia.

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Armed clashes occurred overnight in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory. This was reported by High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, the representative of the Paris government, during a press conference.

“Large caliber weapons, hunting rifles, were used to shoot at the gendarmes,” said Le Franc, according to whom “there were no deaths”.

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Fierce fighting has continued for a second day on the fringes ofthe Kharkiv region in north-east Ukraine. Moscow said it had captured five villages, while Kyiv said it was pushing back against the attacks and battling for control of the territory.

Russia launched the armoured incursion early on Friday, in an attack that may presage a broader push into the Kharkiv region, or aim to draw away overstretched Ukrainian forces in the east where Moscow’s offensive is focused.

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