Israel

Israeli air force drones are patrolling the skies over the country's gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea due to security concerns, a defence official said.

The caution apparent from our security services when dealing with holders of Israeli passports who visit this country is understandable. New Zealanders have not forgotten, nor forgiven, the attempt in 2004 by presumed Israeli agents to obtain by deception or identity theft New Zealand passports.

Forcefully stepping into an explosive Middle East debate, President Barack Obama has endorsed a key Palestinian demand for the borders of its future state and prodded Israel to accept that it can never have a truly peaceful nation based on "permanent occupation."

Mobilised by calls on Facebook, thousands of Arab protesters marched on Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, sparking clashes that left at least 15 people dead in an annual Palestinian mourning ritual marking the anniversary of Israel's birth.

Israel's attorney-general has announced that he plans to indict the foreign minister on corruption charges but will allow him a standard final hearing before a charge sheet is issued.

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired a new wave of rockets that landed deep inside Israel, defying Israeli retaliatory attacks and threats.

Israel's prime minister says his country will react "aggressively, responsibly and wisely" to a recent wave of Palestinian violence.

Israeli tank fire wounded 11 people, including at least six militants, in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday following an attack on an Israeli patrol, the military and Palestinian officials said. One of the wounded later died in a hospital.

The death toll from Israel's worst fire ever reached 41 on Friday as firefighting crews and equipment from around the world began arriving to help the nation battle the devastating blaze.

Israeli troops in the West Bank killed two senior Hamas militants, and a settler leader struck a rock-wielding Palestinian youth with his car in disputed east Jerusalem as tensions rose over stalled peace talks.