Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday expressed concern around Israel's planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, Trudeau's office said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen firing drills by artillery units in the western region involving "newly-equipped super-large" multiple rocket launchers, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.The drills came a day after South Korea and Japan reported North Korea's launch of several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, its first such missile test in about two months.Kim guided the drills on Monday that were aimed at testing the "real war capabilities" of 600 millimeter multiple rocket launchers and improving the operators' combat morale and readiness posture, KCNA said.The drills also included simulating an air explosion of a shell of the super-large multiple rocket launcher at a preset altitude above the target, it said.The unit displayed "high mobility and accurate and strong striking power" in carrying out a sudden combat mission, eliciting the young leader's praise, it said.

Mossad chief David Barnea has returned to Israel amid the hostage deal talks held in Qatar, Kan news reported on Tuesday. Kan further stated that, following the Doha meeting, Israeli officials were expected to discuss the deal.

The director of the police station in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Al-Bayoumi, was eliminated in an IDF strike near an UNRWA office in Nuseirat on Tuesday afternoon, according to Palestinian reports.Four other people were killed in the strike, according to the reports.

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of Abrams tanks and related equipment to Bahrain for an estimated cost of $2.2 billion, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.The principal contractors will be General DynamicsGD.N; BAE SystemsBAES.L; Leonardo DRS; HoneywellHON.O; RTX CorpRTX.N; and Lockheed Martin LMT.N, the Pentagon said.

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy was suspended by the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday, the PMO confirmed.The reason for the suspension was not stated, although Israeli media reported that it was linked to his having responded to a tweet by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron concerning humanitarian aid to Gaza.