Indonesia has joined a chorus of nations condemning a deadly Israeli air strike over the weekend on a school housing displaced Palestinians, with Jakarta calling for the international community to stop the “crimes against humanity” and ensure accountability from Israel.

The upcoming second Indonesia-Africa Forum, slated for Sept. 1 to 3, will focus on discussions about the cooperation between Indonesia and African nations, including on critical minerals for the electric vehicle (EV) battery industry, which requires minerals mined by both parties.

The administration briefed Congress this week on its decision to lift the ban, a congressional aide said, with the sale can continue as early as next week.

Medical personnel from the Indonesian Military will be heading to Egypt and, if security condition permits, the Gaza Strip.

Gaza's Hamas-controlled civil defence agency said Israeli bombardment killed more than 18 people in strikes on two schools on Thursday, as Iran accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East.

Army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi vowed to "find him [Sinwar], attack him" and force Hamas to find someone to replace him.

Iran blames Haniyeh's death on Israel and has vowed to avenge him, while Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah has also pledged to retaliate for his killing and that of its military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut hours earlier.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council, met Iran's president and top security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.

The Foreign Ministry has advised all Indonesian citizens to immediately leave Lebanon as well as advised against all travel to Lebanon, Iran and Israel amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Regional tensions have increased following the assassination on Wednesday of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Both groups are backed by Iran.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces since the Gaza war broke out in October, announced its fighters had fired a barrage of rockets at Israel's north overnight.

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla paid his last respects to Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh at his funeral in Doha, Qatar, on Friday and called for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict during his visit.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne discussed the rising tension in the region by telephone with his US counterpart Antony Blinken, said a ministry spokesman.

Israel ally the United States said it would move warships and fighter jets to the region, while Western governments called on their citizens to leave Lebanon -- where the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is based -- and airlines cancelled flights.

Despite patchy internet Shaqoura offers a different side of the conflict to document what he calls "resilience and persistence" amidst the rubble of war-devastated Gaza: His blogs have attracted nearly half a million followers on Instagram, as well as donations from his fans. 

Haniyeh was laid to rest in Lusail, north of the capital Doha, following funeral prayers at the Gulf emirate's largest mosque attended by thousands of people.

Best known as an online retailer, Shein has opened pop-up stores across the world to try to reach a wider audience for its ultra-cheap fashions, mostly made in China.

The BTK communications authority said in a post on its website that "instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024", without adding further details.

Biden, who was joined on the call by Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, also emphasized the "ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region," the White House said in a statement.

"I can't tell you what this means. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a ceasefire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains," Blinken said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia in Singapore.

"That was violence, a murder that is intolerable, and took place in the sovereign area of Iran," he said. "I suppose all, including Indonesia, strongly condemn violence and murder like that."

"The criminal assassination of leader Haniyeh in the heart of the Iranian capital is a watershed and dangerous event that takes the war to new levels and will have enormous consequences for the entire region," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, whose fighters are engaged in fierce battles with Israeli troops in Gaza, said in a statement.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political leadership that included Haniyeh, said the killing was a "dangerous escalation", adding that it was "a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law".

The strike -- which Iraqi sources said left at least four people dead -- was the first by American forces in Iraq since February, when the US military said it killed a pro-Iran commander who was involved in attacks on the country's troops.

But despite the rhetoric, he was seen by many diplomats as a moderate compared to the more hardline members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza. 

The Islamist faction mourned the death of Haniyeh, who it said was killed in "a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran".

Since the start of the Gaza war, Shukr directed Hezbollah's attacks on Israel, the military said.

The dispute, dating back to 1975, pits Morocco, which says the Western Sahara is its territory, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which says it is an independent state.

Cranes and heavy equipment seem to be everywhere in the North African kingdom as it aims to reposition itself as the continent's global investment and trade hub.

"Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region," said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.