Weeks of tensions in Jerusalem sharply escalated (Haaretz) yesterday as Israel carried out air strikes in Gaza in retaliation for dozens of rocket attacks by Hamas, the militant group that controls the territory, and other armed groups. 

In the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years, twenty-four Palestinians, including nine children, were killed in the Israeli strikes (AP), Gaza health officials said. The Israeli military said fifteen Palestinian militants were killed and that at least two hundred rockets had been fired into Israel. The rocket attacks and air strikes followed violent confrontations (NYT) at East Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque, where hundreds of Palestinians and more than twenty Israeli police officers were injured. Tensions in Jerusalem have been rising over a pending court decision (WaPo) that could result in the eviction of several Arab families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an end to the rocket attacks and de-escalation by all sides.

China’s population grew 0.53 percent annually over the past decade, reaching 1.41 billion in 2020, according to the results of a decennial census (WaPo). Chinese officials said the population growth rate will continue to decline, and economists have warned of a demographic crisis if the birth rate remains low while the population ages.

Japan: U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to name Rahm Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff, congressman, and Chicago mayor, to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan, the Financial Times reports.

The Taliban announced a three-day cease-fire (Al Jazeera) for the Eid al-Fitr holiday this week, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The cease-fire follows a deadly bombing outside a girls’ school in Kabul. The Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the attack; the group denied responsibility.

Kyrgyzstan: Jenish Moldokmatov, an opposition politician and critic of President Sadyr Japarov, was arrested (RFE/RL) for protesting the results of parliamentary elections in October, Moldokmatov’s lawyer said.

Iran opened a five-day registration process (RFE/RL) for candidates in next month’s presidential election. President Hassan Rouhani is not eligible to run for reelection. The election comes as the United States and Iran aim to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

This timeline traces U.S.-Iran relations.

The Ugandan opposition leader and pop star known as Bobi Wine tweeted that his house has been surrounded by police (Bloomberg) ahead of President Yoweri Museveni’s inauguration tomorrow. Wine has claimed that the January elections in which he placed second were rigged.

Botswana/Zambia: The two countries inaugurated (AFP) a $260 million road-and-rail bridge that proponents hope will ease congestion and boost trade.

A gunman killed seven children and a teacher (AP) at a school in the city of Kazan and injured nearly two dozen others, Russian officials said. The president of the Republic of Tatarstan, where Kazan is the capital, said a suspect was in custody.

Armenia: Parliament failed to elect a prime minister for the second time, paving the way for early elections (RFE/RL) next month. Armenia has been in a political crisis since November, when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed an unpopular Russia-brokered peace deal with Azerbaijan, ending fighting over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This In Brief looks at Armenia’s postwar crisis.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez is continuing a five-day visit to Europe, during which he is expected to ask the Paris Club of major creditors to delay a debt payment (Bloomberg) while Argentina continues negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

Peru: Recent polls show that Pedro Castillo Terrones, the leftist front-runner in Peru’s presidential race, has lost most of his lead (MercoPress) over conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized use (NYT) of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged twelve to fifteen. An advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to give its approval, which will allow vaccinations to begin and help schools reopen.

This Backgrounder examines global vaccination efforts.