Forty more Palestinians held in hunt for missing Israelis

It brings the total number of Palestinians detained since the kidnapping to more than 200, most of them Hamas activists – the biggest West Bank crackdown on Hamas in almost a decade.

The latest arrests took place in the northern city of Nablus, widening the army’s search that had been focused on the southern city of Hebron. Activists from the Western-backed Palestinian president’s Fatah faction were among those detained.

The military said Israeli warplanes struck four weapons manufacturing and storage sites in the Gaza Strip early yesterday, in response to a rocket launched from Gaza to Israel.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s new cabinet has been sworn in by newly-elected president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The swearing-in ceremony took place in the capital Cairo and state television aired live footage from the event inside the presidential palace.

The government of about 30 ministers – including four women and several technocrats – is led by prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab, who also served as the interim premier for the past five months.

He was the second person to fill the post since Mr el-Sissi ousted Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, last July, following massive protests against the Islamist leader and his Muslim Brotherhood.