Joe Biden had terse words at the White House on Friday for Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he didn’t know whether the Israeli prime minister was holding up a peace deal in the Middle East – where Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and on a military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon – in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election.

“No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None. None, none. And I think Bibi should remember that,” Biden said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. He added: “And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know – but I’m not counting on that.”

The US president made a surprise and rare appearance in the west wing briefing room and answered reporters’ questions there for the first time in his presidency.

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The European Union's top court ruled Friday that every member country must recognize official changes to gender identity acquired elsewhere within the 27-nation political and economic bloc.

Legal experts say the ruling will boost protections for transgender people in the region.

The decision followed a case brought by a dual British-Romanian national named Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi. Mirzarafie-Ahi was registered at birth in Romania as female, then moved to Britain and obtained legal recognition of his male gender identity. Romanian authorities later refused Mirzarafie-Ahi's attempts to update his identity documents.

"Gender, like a first name, is a fundamental element of personal identity," the European Court of Justice said in a news release on its ruling.

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When they entered Gaza on October 27, after three weeks of aerial bombardment following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Israeli troops took their iPhones with them.

“We live in an era of technology, and this has been described as the first livestreamed genocide in history,” Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa told Al Jazeera’s investigative unit (I-Unit).

In the year since, Israeli soldiers have posted thousands of videos and photos on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

• Nato’s chief Mark Rutte has told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that his goal as head of the military alliance is to ensure that “Ukraine prevails”. In a major show of support for Kyiv, Rutte went to the Ukrainian capital for his maiden trip as secretary general of the alliance. Rutte said he chose Kyiv as his first trip “to make crystal clear to you, to the people of Ukraine and to everyone watching, that Nato stands with Ukraine”.

• In a joint media appearance with Rutte, Zelenskyy blasted western delays over supplying long-range weapons. “We need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, that, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging out,” Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader also called on Nato members to take a more active role in helping his country to fend off Russian aerial attacks. “We will continue to convince our partners of the need to shoot down Russian missiles and drones,” Zelenskyy said, adding “what works in the skies of the Middle East and helps Israel defend itself can also work in the skies of our part of Europe.