Israeli President Invites Türkiye’s Erdogan to Visit, Receives Envoy 

Türkiye's ambassador to Israel Sakir Ozkan Torunlar (R), presents his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem, on January 11, 2023. (AFP)
Türkiye's ambassador to Israel Sakir Ozkan Torunlar (R), presents his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem, on January 11, 2023. (AFP)
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Israeli President Invites Türkiye’s Erdogan to Visit, Receives Envoy 

Türkiye's ambassador to Israel Sakir Ozkan Torunlar (R), presents his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem, on January 11, 2023. (AFP)
Türkiye's ambassador to Israel Sakir Ozkan Torunlar (R), presents his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem, on January 11, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday invited his Turkish counterpart President Tayyip Erdogan to visit the country as he received Ankara's new ambassador in another token of the countries' recently warming ties. 

Last year, Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, was the first Israeli leader to visit Türkiye since 2008, after the two countries began restoring relations and ending a more than a decade-old diplomatic rift. 

They agreed to mutually appoint ambassadors in August and, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won an election in November, he and Erdogan agreed to keep improving ties. 

"I am sure we will all work to strengthen the countries' relations," Herzog said. 

Netanyahu's return to power at the head of a nationalist-religious government in December has rattled Palestinians and Western and Arab allies who fear it could heighten tensions in the Middle East. 

Türkiye last week joined a chorus of condemnation of a visit by Israel's new far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest site and Judaism's most sacred. 



Massive Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 9, Injures Dozens

This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
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Massive Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 9, Injures Dozens

This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)

A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack hit Kyiv overnight, killing nine people and injuring another 70, including six children, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said on its Telegram channel that Russia struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles. At least 45 drones were detected, the administration said, adding that Ukraine's Air Force would update the figures later.
The attack came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with President Donald Trump lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was prolonging the “killing field” by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.
Zelenskyy has said multiple times that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.
At least 42 people were hospitalized in Kyiv, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Rescue operations were still underway early morning Thursday to find bodies under the rubble.
At a Kyiv residential building that was almost entirely destroyed, emergency workers removed rubble with their hands, rescuing a trapped woman who emerged from the wreckage covered in white dust and moaning in pain, The Associated Press reported.
An elderly woman sat against a brick wall, face smeared with blood, her eyes fixed to the ground in shock as medics tended to her wounds.
Fires were reported in several residential buildings said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city military administration.
The attack, which began around 1:00 a.m., hit at least five neighborhoods in Kyiv. In Sviatoshynkskyi district, a fire broke out in a residential building that was damaged in the attack.
The Associated Press saw rescue teams dig out people trapped under the rubble of the building and dead bodies being taken away.
More fires were reported in the Shevchenkivsky and Holosiivskyi districts.