"What's happening is not genocide," Biden told a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House as he discussed the conflict sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

The rare request from Iran, which views the United States and Israel as its main adversaries, was disclosed by the State Department at a news briefing. 

Jokowi said that more efforts needed to be made by the UN to resolve Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, which he believed was the root cause of the crisis between the two nations.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ultimate authority in Iran, declared five days of mourning and assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, to assume interim duties ahead of elections within 50 days.

"I am deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said in a statement on social media.

* If a president dies in office, article 131 of the Islamic Republic's constitution says that the first vice president - who is Mohammad Mokhber - takes over, with the confirmation of the supreme leader, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran.

Indonesia has joined other countries around the world in expressing concern over the fate of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other dignitaries who were traveling in a helicopter that went missing in northwest East Azerbaijan province.

Raisi died when a helicopter carrying him back from a visit to the Azerbaijani border crashed in mountainous terrain, killing all aboard, a senior Iranian official said.

Citing the royal court, the state news agency said the 88-year-old king would be treated with antibiotics until the inflammation subsides.

The most recent fatal crash of a Bell 212 was in September 2023, when a privately operated aircraft crashed off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to the non-profit Flight Safety Foundation.

"President Raisi's helicopter was completely burned in the crash ... unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," the official told Reuters.

Fears grew for the 63-year-old Iranian leader after contact was lost with the aircraft carrying him as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others in East Azerbaijan province on Sunday, reports said.

A Turkish drone identified a source of heat suspected to be the helicopter's wreckage and had shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities, Anadolu news agency said on X.

Hamas meanwhile insisted it would take part in any decision on the post-war government of Gaza as  Palestinians marked the 76th anniversary of the "Nakba", when around 760,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 creation of Israel.

His victory at the February presidential election, Prabowo said, was evidence that the Indonesian people approved of him.

Treasury officials from Washington visited Malaysia last week to discuss their worries that the Palestinian group was fundraising there.

Prabowo in his capacity as Indonesian defense minister has in recent years boosted security cooperation with the Gulf nation. Prabowo revealed last year that his team was negotiating with the UAE for the procurement of several used Dassault Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets.

The administration informally notified the weapons package to Congress, which will need to approve it, a US official said, while a congressional aide who also requested anonymity said the weapons bought from US weapons makers amounted to around $1 billion.

Shortly after arriving at the Al Shati presidential palace in Dubai, Prabowo began his conversation with MBZ by introducing Gibran to the Gulf country's leader.

Outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is also scheduled to attend the forum in Qatar,  though the President will likely depart for the Middle East separately following his Monday trip to Southeast Sulawesi.

Indonesia said it was “hopeful” that the historic United Nations General Assembly vote last week that gives Palestine additional rights in the world body would pave the way for Palestine to be accepted as a full-fledged member of the UN.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNWRA, said in a post on the social media platform X that he had decided to close the compound until proper security was restored. He said Thursday's incident was the second in less than a week.

AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip early Friday witnessed artillery strikes on Rafah on the territory's southern border with Egypt, while witnesses reported air strikes and fighting in Gaza City further north.

People and governments around the world have deplored Israel's military operation on Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where around 1.4 million refugees from across the territory are sheltering, with Indonesia issuing strong condemnation against the move as well as a warning that further escalation would "amount to an ultimate crime against humanity".

As ceasefire talks continued in Cairo, Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their fighters struck Israeli forces on the eastern outskirts of Rafah, firing anti-tank rockets and mortars at Israeli positions.

Indonesia, through the Foreign Ministry, reiterated its call for a permanent cease-fire and urged the United Nations Security Council to “stop Israel’s brutal atrocities immediately”.

Biden has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian have sought refuge from combat elsewhere in Gaza. 

Asked for confirmation, the Israeli military said it will be "publishing a statement shortly".

Another Hamas spokesman said that the Palestinian militant group would continue negotiations towards a truce in Gaza, despite Israel's order to begin evacuating people from Rafah in the south.

Indonesia sought to remind leaders of the Islamic world to “remain united on helping Palestine”, as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened over the weekend to hash out a resolution on the war in Gaza amid revived efforts to advance ties between Israel and Arab nations.