Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said rescuers were still clearing debris and searching for survivors in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district after hours-long attacks overnight caused extensive destruction to apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure.

“Rescuers continue clearing the rubble and searching for people in the building in Darnytskyi district non-stop,” the emergency service said in a statement posted on Telegram, revising an earlier reported death toll of 16.

Images released by Ukrainian authorities showed burned vehicles, shattered residential buildings and emergency personnel working through debris in heavily damaged neighborhoods.

The latest strikes marked one of the deadliest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months as Russia continues intensified aerial bombardments targeting cities and infrastructure across Ukraine amid the prolonged conflict.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian areas during large-scale missile and drone assaults, while Russia maintains that its strikes are directed at military and strategic infrastructure.

The attacks came as fighting along multiple front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine remained intense, with both sides continuing long-range strikes deep beyond battlefield positions.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 120 Palestinians, including eight women and 13 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Iran conflict was paused on April 8, marking a 20% increase compared with the preceding five-week period.

Conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) reported that Israeli attacks in Gaza rose by 35% in April compared with March, reflecting a renewed military focus on the territory after Israel scaled back operations linked to Iran.

The escalation underscores mounting difficulties surrounding US President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire and advance reconstruction plans in Gaza following more than two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“The war is still ongoing,” said Lafi Al-Najjar, a 36-year-old blind Palestinian whose son was killed in an Israeli strike on April 28. Speaking from a tent camp in the ruins of Khan Younis, Najjar said conditions on the ground had not reflected public declarations of de-escalation.

Israel’s military did not immediately comment publicly on the increased pace of strikes. However, four Israeli defense officials told Reuters that military leaders had recently warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that Hamas was tightening operational control, replenishing weapons supplies and rebuilding militant ranks.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ceasefire arrangement permitted Israel to act against imminent threats. The official added that the military had prepared broader operational plans for a possible resumption of large-scale combat in Gaza, although no formal order had been issued.

The ceasefire agreement reached in October halted major fighting after two years of war but failed to produce a permanent political settlement.

Negotiations aimed at securing a full Israeli withdrawal, Hamas disarmament and reconstruction of Gaza have stalled.

Israeli forces continue to control more than half of Gaza’s territory, where extensive demolition has left large areas uninhabitable. More than 2 million Palestinians are concentrated in a narrow coastal zone, many sheltering in damaged buildings or temporary encampments.

Since the October ceasefire, around 850 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to figures that do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. During the same period, four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza. Hamas has not released casualty figures for its fighters.

Several Israeli strikes since mid-April have targeted positions associated with Gaza’s Hamas-run police force. Palestinian health and police officials said at least 14 police personnel had been killed since April 14.

Nasser Khdour, a researcher at ACLED, said Israeli attacks during April targeted Hamas operatives, allied militant factions, police facilities and security checkpoints across areas under Hamas administration.
Khdour said drone strikes, artillery shelling and gunfire had also continued near armistice lines, affecting both militants and civilians approaching Israeli positions.

Since March, Israel has simultaneously expanded military operations beyond Gaza, joining US strikes against Iran while continuing air and ground campaigns against the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Although hostilities in Lebanon have slowed under a separate US-mediated ceasefire, clashes have persisted intermittently.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified incoming missiles and was responding to the threat, confirming that defensive systems were operating to intercept them.

The exchange followed Israeli strikes described as a “wave” of air attacks on Iran, marking a further escalation in hostilities between the two countries.

No immediate details were provided on damage or casualties from the missile launches or interceptions.

The latest developments come amid intensifying cross-border attacks as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to expand, raising concerns over broader regional escalation.

The refinery attack triggered fires that emergency and firefighting teams were working to contain, the company said in a statement carried by state media. No injuries were reported, and operations were being monitored closely, including air quality in surrounding areas, which officials said showed no immediate environmental impact.

Earlier, Kuwait’s military said its air defense systems were engaging incoming missile and drone threats.

The Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said a separate strike hit a power and desalination plant, causing material damage to parts of the facility. Emergency teams were deployed under contingency plans to maintain operations and secure infrastructure.

Kuwait has faced repeated missile and drone attacks since the outbreak of conflict involving Iran and its regional adversaries, increasing pressure on critical energy and utility infrastructure.

The latest strikes highlight the growing risk to energy supply chains and essential services in the Gulf, even as authorities seek to contain damage and maintain operational continuity.

The bombardment signals the risks of a deepening rift between two powerful regional militaries over Syria, where Islamist rebels have installed a new government after toppling former leader Bashar al-Assad in December.

The Israeli strikes on the three sites Turkey was assessing, including a heavy barrage on Wednesday night, came despite Ankara’s efforts to reassure Washington that a deeper military presence in Syria was not intended to threaten Israel.

The Islamists replacing Assad have alarmed Israel, which is wary of an Islamist presence on its border and has lobbied the United States to curb Turkey’s growing influence in the country.

Ankara, a longtime backer of opposition to Assad, is positioning to play a major role in the remade Syria, including with a possible joint defence pact that could see new Turkish bases in central Syria and use of Syria’s airspace.

In preparation, Turkish military teams in recent weeks visited the T4 and Palmyra air bases in Syria’s Homs province and the main airport in Hama province, according to a regional intelligence official, two Syrian military sources and another Syrian source familiar with the matter.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the visits, which have not been previously reported.

Turkish teams evaluated the state of the runways, hangars and other infrastructure at the bases, the regional intelligence official said.

Another planned visit to T4 and Palmyra on March 25 was cancelled after Israel struck both bases just hours beforehand, according to the regional intelligence official and the two Syrian military sources.

Strikes at T4 “destroyed the runway, tower, hangars and the planes that were grounded. It was a tough message that Israel won’t accept the expanded Turkish presence,” said the intelligence official, who reviewed photographs of the damage.

“T4 is totally unusable now,” said a fourth Syrian source, who is close to Turkey.

When asked about the visits, a Turkish defence ministry official said: “Reports and posts regarding developments in Syria – whether real or alleged – that do not originate from official authorities should not be taken into consideration, as they lack credibility and may be misleading.”

A spokesperson for Syria’s defence ministry declined to comment.

Turkey’s foreign ministry on Thursday called Israel “the greatest threat to regional security”. On Friday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters Turkey wanted no confrontation with Israel in Syria.

Heavy Strikes

In the four months since Assad was toppled, Israel has seized ground in southwest Syria, made overtures to the Druze minority, and struck much of the Syrian military’s heavy weapons and equipment. Wednesday’s strikes were some of the most intense yet.

Syria’s foreign ministry said Israel struck five separate areas within a 30-minute window, resulting in the near-total destruction of the Hama base and wounding dozens of civilians and soldiers.

Israel said it hit the T4 air base and other military capabilities at air bases in Hama and Homs provinces, as well as military infrastructure in the Damascus area.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called the air strikes a warning that “we will not allow the security of the State of Israel to be harmed”. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of seeking a “Turkish protectorate” in Syria.

Noa Lazimi, a specialist in Middle East politics at Bar-Ilan University, said Israel was concerned that Turkey could establish Russian anti-aircraft systems and drones at T4.

“The base would enable Turkey to establish air superiority in this area, and this poses a serious concern for Israel because it undermines its operational freedom in the region,” she said.

Ideological Collision Course

Turkey has tried to reassure the U.S. that it wants to work towards a stable Syria.

Foreign Minister Fidan told U.S. officials in Washington last month that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa would not pose a threat to neighbours, according to a senior regional diplomat close to Turkey and a source in Washington briefed on the meetings.

Fidan and other Turkish officials had earlier told Sharaa that Ankara was carefully calibrating its moves towards a defence pact so as not to irk Washington, one of the Syrian military sources said.

“Turkey, not Israel, would pay the highest price among regional states were there to be failure or destabilization in Syria, including with refugees and security,” an official in Turkey’s ruling AK Party told Reuters.

Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute think tank, said Turkey and Israel were on an “ideological collision course” but could avoid military escalation through mediation with Washington.