Israeli media reports planned visit, citing unnamed officials, in the wake of stalled talks mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt

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Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah for Al Jazeera, writes that he is seeing “constant artillery shelling on the eastern part of the city”, and there is “a concentration of attacks on Gaza’s central area, mainly refugee camps, such as Nuseirat and Bureij camps, as well as on Deir el-Balah city.”

Peter Beaumont has this analysis for the Guardian from Jerusalam:

The sweeping foreign aid package passed by congress has drawn the ire of China, but billions of dollars will actually stay in the US

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has praised the US Congress for passing a sweeping foreign aid package this week which included arms support for the island, and has drawn the ire of China.

After months of delays and contentious debate, the bill was signed into law by Joe Biden on Wednesday . Described as $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the legislation actually contains provisions that broadly affect many parts of the Asia-Pacific, while also spending billions of dollars at home in America.

About 1,000 US troops will support the military construction efforts, but Joe Biden has ordered them not to set foot on the Gaza shore

US troops have begun construction of a maritime pier off the coast of Gaza that aims to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory, the Pentagon has said, but the complex plan to bring more desperately needed food to Palestinian civilians is still mired in fears over security and how the aid will be delivered.

“I can confirm that US military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea,” Pentagon spokesperson Maj Gen Patrick Ryder told reporters.

Israel says the graves were dug by people in Gaza a few months ago but the corpses had been examined by IDF soldiers

Pictures coming in overnight from the news wires show Palestinians mourning those killed by the latest round of Israeli airstrikes on Rafah , in the south of the Gaza Strip, an area where Israel’s military has repeatedly ordered civilians to evacuate to.

A memorial at the National Cathedral in Washington on Thursday will honour the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza earlier this month.

José Andrés , the chef and philanthropist behind the Washington-based World Central Kitchen disaster relief group, is expected to speak at the celebration of life service, Associated Press reports.

Tit-for-tat attacks present Sunni monarchies with complicated choices over region’s future

Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel had, by the end of this week, become one of the most interpreted events in recent modern history. Then, in the early hours of Friday, came Israel’s reported riposte . As in June 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in a moment which ultimately led to the first world war, these shots were heard around the world, even if few can agree conclusively on what they portend.

By one de minimis account, Tehran was merely sending a performative warning shot with its attack last Saturday, almost taking its ballistic missiles out for a weekend test drive. The maximalist version is that this was a state-on-state assault designed to change the rules of the Middle East. By swarming Israel with so many projectiles, such an assessment goes, Iran was prepared to risk turning Israel into a mini-Dresden of 1945 and was only thwarted by Israeli strategic defences and, crucially, the extraordinary cooperation between the US, Israel and Sunni Gulf allies.

Tit-for-tat attacks have breached taboo of direct strikes on each other’s territory but Tehran has no ‘immediate’ plans to retaliate

• Middle East crisis – live updates

World leaders urged calm on Friday after Israel conducted a pre-dawn drone sortie over Iran following a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks that crossed an important red line that has for decades held the Middle East back from a major regional conflict.

There were tentative hopes late on Friday that the apparent strike attempt against an airbase near the city of Isfahan was sufficiently limited to fend off the threat of a bigger Iranian response and an uncontrolled spiral of violence between a nuclear power and a state with the capacity to develop nuclear weapons quickly.

Two fellow Republicans have threatened to remove House speaker if he advances Ukraine funding proposal

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is pushing ahead with his plan to hold votes on four separate foreign aid bills this week, despite threats from two fellow Republicans to oust him if he advances a Ukraine funding proposal.

Shortly after noon on Wednesday, the rules committee posted text for three bills that would provide funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The text of a fourth bill, which is expected to include measures to redirect seized Russian assets toward Ukraine and force the sale of TikTok, will be released later on Wednesday, Johnson said in a note to members.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan says Revolutionary Guard and defence ministry will also be affected; EU expected to impose sanctions too

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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza.

In an interview with daily La Stampa, Reuters reports Tajani said “a ceasefire is necessary. Israel must stop the military operations that have massively affected the Palestinian population.”

Democrat praised for serving with ‘immense dignity and courage’ during five-decade career while also perfecting ‘workdays’ to connect with constituents

Former US senator and two-term Florida governor Bob Graham, who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate intelligence committee in the aftermath of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks and as an early critic of the Iraq war, has died aged 87.

Graham’s family announced the death in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham on Tuesday.