At least 44 people, including 15 children, were killed in 56 hours of violence.

Egypt says it is engaged in intensive talks to calm the situation.

The strikes came after Israel arrested Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad group, during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin earlier this week.

The 225-member parliament gave 134 votes to Ranil Wickremesinghe, hoping he would pull the country out of a crippling economic and political crisis.

Latest numbers are not clear because some lawmakers have become independents.

Rajapaksa says Sri Lanka’s financial crisis was rooted in years of economic mismanagement that pre-dated his presidency and in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The news of Rajapaksa's resignation, first sent by an email to the speaker before a hard copy was delivered to the speaker, triggered jubilation in Sri Lanka's main city Colombo.

Singapore's foreign ministry says Rajapaksa entered the country on a private visit, and had not sought or been granted asylum.

Police have fired repeated rounds of tear gas.

Police are also imposing an indefinite curfew across the western province, which includes the capital Colombo, to contain growing protests.

As president, Rajapaksa enjoys immunity from arrest, and he is believed to have wanted to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of being detained.

The succession process could take between three days – the minimum time taken to convene parliament – and a maximum of 30 days allowed.