This is AP NewsMinute:

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday that the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,000 since the Israel-Hamas war began.

The toll has continued to rise as Israel has carried out strikes in response to what it has called violations of the ceasefire.

============

President Trump said Saturday that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety.”

It was unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing his campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

============

Airlines worldwide reported disruptions heading into the weekend as they fixed software on a common commercial aircraft.

Airbus said Friday that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

============

British playwright Tom Stoppard, who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for “Shakespeare In Love,” has died at age 88.

Stoppard was often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation and was garlanded with honors, including a shelf full of theater awards.