A Palestinian took hostages in the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv today after shots were fired outside in an incident that appeared to have only an indirect link to recent tensions between the two countries.

HAMAS militants yesterday traded a two-minute video showing an apparently unharmed captured Israeli soldier for 19 Palestinian women held in Israeli jails – the first tangible step toward defusing a key flashpoint in Israeli-Palestinian hostilities.

A nationally televised meeting between Iceland’s prime minister and other political leaders was forced off the air tonight by angry protesters.

At least seven people were killed when two gunmen entered the dining room of a rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem and opened fire tonight, police and rescue workers said.

US President George Bush has announced he will visit the Middle East in early January.

Yoko Ono urged the world to give peace a chance as she unveiled a monument in memory of her husband, John Lennon, in Iceland.

Feast day of The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, St Tarsicius, and St Arnulf of Soissons.

Hamas militants today released a recorded message from captured Israeli soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was abducted exactly one year ago.

Two Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon fell on northern Israel today, police and the military said.

An armed Palestinian man burst into the British Embassy in Tel Aviv today demanding political asylum, saying in a dramatic interview on live television that he would rather die than return to the West Bank.

The Israeli air force shot down a Hezbollah drone for the first time today, sending its wreckage plunging into the sea, the army said.

At least two people were killed today as rockets fired by Hezbollah guerrillas pounded the northern Israeli city of Haifa, police said.

Israeli warplanes repeatedly blasted Beirut’s southern suburbs today, causing a series of huge blasts, Hezbollah’s Al Manar television reported.

Israeli officials warned today that Hezbollah has missiles that could reach as far as 100-200kms, into the country, putting cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv at risk if the weapons are used.

Palestinian militants today gave Israel 24 hours to start releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, implying they will kill an abducted Israeli soldier tomorrow morning if their demands are not met.

A senior Israeli Cabinet minister today warned of a harsh military response in the Gaza Strip if an abducted Israeli is harmed by his Palestinian captors.

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up near a fast food restaurant in a bustling commercial area of Tel Aviv during the Jewish holiday of Passover today, wounding at least 35 people, including several seriously, police and medics said.

Doctors are continuing to reduce Ariel Sharon’s anaesthetics today, a day after Israel’s prime minister took a small step towards recovery from a massive stroke.

The hospital caring for Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon said early today that there was no change in his condition overnight, and doctors planned to bring him out of a medically induced coma.

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon underwent emergency surgery today after a brain scan revealed a rise in intracranial pressure and some bleeding in his brain.

An Israeli TV station today quoted hospital officials as saying Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is not in a vegetative state and that his reflexes are responding to stimulation.

An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a car believed to be carrying a senior Islamic militant in the Gaza Strip tonight, killing four people, witnesses said.

A group of air force pilots are refusing to carry out air strikes in Palestinian territories, the first such protest from pilots, who are revered in Israel.

Israel’s Cabinet voted today to release up to 100 jailed Islamic militants ahead of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to the US.

Iraq may be transferring chemical and biological weapons to Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a TV interview tonight.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in an Israeli shopping mall tonight and and paramedics said there were many casualties.