A group of Egyptian fishermen who were kidnapped by pirates off the Somali coast four months ago and managed to overpower their captors sailed home to a hero's welcome today, but some details of their dramatic escape remained a mystery.

A Palestinian youth was killed in an Israeli airstrike today on a northern Gaza Strip refugee camp, Palestinian officials said.

Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza’s Rafah refugee camp today, killing seven Palestinians and demolishing several buildings despite an international outcry over a deadly tank attack on a group of protesters.