Israel Medics Say 14 Wounded After Iranian Missile Fire

Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at the damage in a residential building, after Iran launched missiles towards Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Bnei Brak, Israel April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at the damage in a residential building, after Iran launched missiles towards Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Bnei Brak, Israel April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Medics Say 14 Wounded After Iranian Missile Fire

Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at the damage in a residential building, after Iran launched missiles towards Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Bnei Brak, Israel April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at the damage in a residential building, after Iran launched missiles towards Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Bnei Brak, Israel April 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's emergency medical service said 14 people including an 11-year-old girl were wounded during a missile attack that the military blamed on Iran and police said caused damage at several sites. 

The military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel" for the first time in about 20 hours, with air raid sirens activated across central Israel. 

Another warning of incoming missile fire came less than an hour later, prompting alerts across large parts of northern and central Israel, according to the military's Home Front Command. 

"EMTs and paramedics are providing medical treatment and evacuating to hospitals 14 casualties," the Magen David Adom emergency medical service said in a statement, including an 11-year-old girl in a serious condition with shrapnel injuries. 

It said a 13-year-old boy and 36-year-old woman, also with shrapnel injuries, were in moderate condition and a further 11 casualties in "mild condition". 

Sheba hospital in the Tel Aviv area said it was treating eight wounded people, including a child in "very critical condition", and six other children. 

Authorities did not specify at how many sites people were injured. However, police reported damage at several sites in central Israel, sharing an image of what appears to be missile debris on a road. 

AFP images from the city of Bnei Brak, outside of Tel Aviv, showed first responders and residents carrying small children out of an apartment building that was hit. 

AFP footage and images from downtown Tel Aviv showed first responders at another impact site and a small crater on the road near the French embassy. 

Iran has claimed it targets military objectives. 

Due to military censorship rules in place in Israel since the start of the current war, sensitive military sites are closed to the public and the press, while other impact sites in populated areas are generally closed off until they are cleared of missile debris and unexploded ordnance. 

Israeli media said cluster munitions, which explode mid-air and scatter bomblets across a wide area, were used in the latest attack. 

Iran and Israel have previously accused each other of using cluster bombs. 



EU Announces a Further $2.3 Million in Humanitarian Aid for Cuba

FILE - An ice cream street vendor shows his Cuban pesos in Havana, Cuba, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley, File)
FILE - An ice cream street vendor shows his Cuban pesos in Havana, Cuba, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley, File)
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EU Announces a Further $2.3 Million in Humanitarian Aid for Cuba

FILE - An ice cream street vendor shows his Cuban pesos in Havana, Cuba, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley, File)
FILE - An ice cream street vendor shows his Cuban pesos in Havana, Cuba, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley, File)

The European Commission has released a further 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in aid for Cuba, it said on Wednesday, to tackle what it described as worsening humanitarian conditions in the country.

The US cut off Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba after toppling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

This has resulted in an energy crisis in Cuba and blackouts across ⁠the country, whose ⁠population stands at 10 million. Cuban health officials say the crisis has increased the mortality risk for Cuban cancer patients, especially children.

"The EU stands with the people of Cuba in ⁠their hour of need. After Hurricane Melissa, we were there. And today, we are stepping up again with €2 million in humanitarian aid to help deliver food and safe drinking water to those who need it most. In a country facing an energy crisis and growing shortages, this support will help keep life-saving aid flowing ⁠to ⁠up to two million people in need," Reuters quoted Hadja Lahbib, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, as saying in a statement.

On March 31, a Russian-flagged tanker carrying some 700,000 barrels of crude docked in Cuba's Matanzas oil terminal, shipping data showed, marking the first significant oil delivery to the island since US President Donald Trump's administration cut off its fuel supply.


Pakistan Says Holding Talks with Afghan Govt in China

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, poses for photos with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, poses for photos with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)
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Pakistan Says Holding Talks with Afghan Govt in China

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, poses for photos with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, poses for photos with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)

Pakistan and Afghanistan are holding talks in China to end months of conflict, two officials from Islamabad told AFP on Wednesday.

The meeting in the northwestern city of Urumqi comes after Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, travelled to Beijing on Tuesday to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The pair discussed Islamabad's role in trying to get the United States and Iran to the negotiating table, and set out a joint five-point plan for an end to the conflict.

Dar had been due to return to Islamabad on Wednesday.

China has sought to mediate in the escalating conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan says it is targeting extremists who have carried out cross-border attacks, but authorities in Kabul deny harboring militants.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's foreign ministry and military when contacted by AFP, or from the Afghan government.

But a senior Pakistani security official said: "A delegation led by an official from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in Urumqi to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban

"The meeting is taking place at the request of our Chinese friends."

A second senior government official also confirmed the talks, adding: "The meeting is to set a base for full-scale dialogue."

The first official said Pakistan's demands from Afghanistan "remain unchanged", urging Kabul to "take verifiable action" against extremists and "end any support for the group".

It also wants to "ensure that Afghan territory is not used as a base for launching attacks against Pakistan".


Trump Says US Strongly Considering NATO Exit

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump signs documents at the White House in Washington, US, January 20, 2025.  REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump signs documents at the White House in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Trump Says US Strongly Considering NATO Exit

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump signs documents at the White House in Washington, US, January 20, 2025.  REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump signs documents at the White House in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

President Donald Trump said he was strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to back US military action against Iran, according to an interview with Britain's Daily ⁠Telegraph.

Trump described the ⁠alliance as a "paper tiger" and said removing the United States from the defense pact was ⁠now "beyond reconsideration," the newspaper reported. He said he had long held doubts about NATO's credibility.

"Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration," Trump told the newspaper when asked about whether he would reconsider US ⁠membership ⁠of the alliance after the conflict.

"I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin knows that too, by the way."

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday other countries needed to "be prepared to stand up" and help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, echoing criticism from Trump, who has singled out NATO members Britain and France.

Rubio told Fox News Washington would not overlook the lack of assistance from other NATO members. "After this conflict is concluded, we ⁠are going to have to reexamine ⁠that relationship," he said.