OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — By wasting little time withdrawing troops from northern Gaza over the weekend after a two-day operation, Israel made clear it did not want to get bogged down in territory it quit less than a year ago.

DAMASCUS (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the Syrian capital Monday in a government-sanctioned protest to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under attack following last month’s capture of an Israeli soldier.

BEIRUT — Rarely have Western news organisations wooed Arab hearts and minds so avidly — or with so little certainty of political or commercial reward.