BBC在线收听下载:以色列加大对加沙地带的进攻规模

BBC News. Hello, I'm Jerry Smit.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to continue with massive strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to rockets fired by Palestinian militants. The two sides have been exchanging fire for a second day. More from our Middle East analyst Alan Johnston. Any hope that this latest major flare-up of violence might be quickly contained is fading. Israel has struck at well over two hundred targets in Gaza, and Prime Minister Netanyahu says these strikes will continue. He's also ordered the deployment of more tank and infantry forces to Gaza's border. Israel says some four hundred and fifty rockets have been launched into its territory. Behind the scenes, Egyptian and other diplomats will be trying to mediate. They'll no doubt be seeking a deal that would involve the easing of Israel's economic blockade of Gaza in return for calm from the militants.

The United Nations says it has gained access to vital food aid in Yemen more than eight months after losing access because of fighting between government forces and Houthi rebels. A spokesman for the World Food Program said more than fifty thousand tons of wheat stored in the port city of Hodeidah needed salvaging.

Pope Francis is in Bulgaria at the start of a three-day trip which will also take him to North Macedonia. Roman Catholics make up less than one percent of the population in both countries, where the Orthodox Church is dominant. Orthodox priests in Bulgaria have been banned from holding joint prayers with the Pope. At an outdoor service in the capital Sofia, the Pope acknowledged the pressures of Europe's immigrant crisis, but urged people to remain open to the vulnerable. To all Bulgarians who know the drama of immigration, I respectfully suggest that you not close your eyes or your heart in accordance with your best traditions to those who knock at your doors.

Afghan officials say armed Taliban fighters have attacked the police headquarters at the northern city of Pul-e-Khumri in Baghlan province. A suspected Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed vehicle into the compound and blew himself up. Rebel fighters then stormed in, opening fire on the security forces stationed there. Clashes are still going on.

Voters in Panama will go to the polls shortly to elect a successor to President Juan Carlos Varela, who is not allowed to stand for a second term in office. Opinion polls say the front runner is the centre-left former Minister of Agriculture Laurentino Cortizo. His main rival is the centre-right former Foreign Minister Romulo Roux. News from the BBC.