Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan announced that an "explosive drone" targeting the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq was downed on Wednesday near Arbil airport, the latest such attack against foreign troops in the country.

The drone, launched in the evening "by outlaw militias, was shot down at the military base of the international coalition", the anti-terror service of the autonomous region announced.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups, claimed an attack at the airport on Wednesday evening.

The United Nations Security Council demanded on Wednesday an "immediate" end to attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

The resolution passed "demands that the Huthis immediately cease all such attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security."

It was adopted after Russia, as well as China, Mozambique and Algeria, abstained.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered Wednesday in front of the statue of Nelson Mandela in the occupied West Bank to thank South Africa for bringing a "genocide" case against Israel over its bombardment of Gaza.

The crowd waved Palestinian flags, listened to speeches and held signs saying "Stop the genocide" and "Thank you South Africa".

Hearings at the UN's top court will begin on Thursday with South Africa hoping the judges will compel Israel to halt its bombardment.

Attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have caused shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal -- a key source of revenue for Egypt as it battles a deep economic crisis.

International Monetary Fund figures show 35 percent less cargo was transported through the Suez Canal in the first week of 2024 compared with the same period last year.

Analysts say the financial impact, though limited for now, will become painful if Houthi attacks keep throttling traffic through the main maritime artery connecting Europe and Asia.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said an Israeli strike on an ambulance in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday killed four medics and two other people inside the vehicle.

The organisation said in a statement there were "six martyrs" as a result of "the IDF (Israeli army) targeting of a PRCS ambulance in Deir al-Balah," adding that four were emergency team members.

The Red Crescent had initially said four people had died but revised the figure, saying "two individuals who were in the ambulance at the time of the targeting sustained injuries and were later martyred".

Germany on Wednesday said it had approved the sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia, ending a blockade on direct arms exports to the Gulf kingdom in place since 2018.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed a report by German weekly Spiegel, which said Berlin had given the green light for the delivery of 150 Iris-T air-to-air missiles to Riyadh.

"The details of this report are accurate," said Hebestreit, speaking at a regular government news conference.

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that the estimated value of its mineral resources had nearly doubled to $2.5 trillion, highlighting a sector it hopes will help diversify its oil-reliant economy.

"I am delighted to announce that our estimation for the kingdom's untapped mineral potential has increased from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, an increase of 90 percent," Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Alkhorayef told a conference in Riyadh.

Silvia Cunio sighed deeply as she reviewed the messages in her family chat group from October 7, the last time she heard from her two sons before Hamas gunmen took them to Gaza as hostages.

"I want to hug them as soon as possible," the 63-year-old said of David and Ariel, who are approaching 100 days of captivity in the Palestinian territory.

Israel is bombarding the Gaza Strip daily and has a stated aim of finding and freeing the hostages. Officials believe 132 are still in the besieged territory, of whom 25 have been confirmed as dead.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Mahmud Abbas was committed to reforming the Palestinian Authority to potentially reunite war-torn Gaza and the occupied West Bank under its leadership.

Blinken laid out Gaza's possible future after meeting Palestinian president Abbas in Ramallah and Bahrain's King Hamad in his fourth Middle East tour aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from escalating.

US and UK forces have shot down more than 20 drones and missiles over the Red Sea launched by Yemen's Huthis, in what London branded Wednesday the "largest attack" yet by the Iran-backed rebels.

The Western allies' warships and planes took out 18 drones and three missiles in their latest Red Sea military intervention on Tuesday, the US military said.

The Huthis later said they had fired a "large number" of missiles and drones at a US ship, without giving details of timing and location.