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.

The Asian Cup begins on Friday with defending champions Qatar the hosts, Japan favourites and Son Heung-min's South Korea vowing to win the title for the first time in 64 years.

The 24 teams spanning Australia to Palestine will battle for regional glory over the next four weeks, culminating in the final at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium on February 10.

It will take something special to beat the last big game at Lusail -- the World Cup final 13 months ago when an Argentina side inspired by Lionel Messi defeated France on penalties.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to hold talks Wednesday with the head of the Palestinian Authority, which Washington hopes could govern Gaza after Israel's war with Hamas ends.

The United States' top diplomat was on his fourth crisis visit to the Middle East since the war in the Gaza Strip began, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden was kept in the dark over his defense secretary's cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations for about a month, the White House admitted Tuesday, as details of Lloyd Austin's deeply unusual disappearance raised questions about leadership of the world's top military.

The 70-year-old's failure to disclose his hospitalization has prompted an extraordinary row in Washington and could be embarrassing for Biden, who faces multiple foreign crises in his reelection campaign year, including in Israel and Ukraine.