Moshe Ajami is no stranger to human remains. But until October, the bits of bone and teeth he handled were centuries, if not millennia, old.
Now, he and a team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have turned their skills to finding and identifying the victims of Hamas's bloody October 7 attack.
Despite using the same techniques, this is grim work compared to their usual digs.
Two people arrested in Brazil for allegedly planning terrorist attacks in the country on behalf of Lebanon-based Hezbollah have denied any such involvement, according to images seen Saturday on the G1 news site.
During an audience with a judge conducted Friday by videoconference, the suspects -- both Brazilian nationals in their 30s arrested earlier this week by federal police -- categorically denied all charges, calling them "absurd."
Several thousand people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday under the rallying cry "Stop the massacre in Gaza".
The left-wing organisers called for France to "demand an immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas militants.
"I came to support the Palestinian cause, for a ceasefire in Gaza," said engineer Ahlem Triki, a Palestinian flag over her shoulders.
Hamas's shock October 7 attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in Israel and 239 people taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Lebanon's Hezbollah has been trading daily cross-border fire with its sworn enemy Israel as war rages in Gaza, with the Iran-backed group deploying a large weapons arsenal amassed over decades.
AFP looks at the Shiite Muslim group's firepower and how it has expanded since it fought a war with Israel in 2006.
- Armed and dangerous -
Hezbollah is the only Lebanese faction to have retained its weapons after the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, and is now considered to have a more powerful stockpile than the national army.
Palestinians seeking refuge at Gaza's largest hospital and staff said they were trapped in increasingly horrific conditions Saturday, with two premature infants dying due to lack of electricity as heavy fighting raged nearby.
The gun battles and intense bombardment around the Al-Shifa hospital came as Israel pressed deep into Gaza City in its offensive aimed at destroying the militant group Hamas in the territory it rules.
Who will govern Gaza when Israel's military offensive against Hamas ends? After five weeks of fighting, the answer remains shrouded in confusion.
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group with an armed wing, has governed the coastal territory of about 2.4 million people since 2007 after which Israel placed Gaza under a strict blockade governing the movement of people and goods in and out.
Hamas had seized power that year following street battles with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday condemned far-right protesters and Hamas sympathisers, as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marched through London calling for a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza.
Nearly 2,000 police were out in force to keep rival groups apart, with the march organised on Armistice Day, the annual event when Britain remembers its war dead with solemn ceremonies at war memorials.
The march went ahead after a week of tensions, which saw the government call for it to be scrapped, and police said they made scores of arrests.
As Israel's footballers prepare to play Kosovo in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Sunday -- their first international fixture since the war broke out in the country in October -- Pristina police are on alert after a series of social media posts calling for the game to be cancelled.
Although a vast majority of Kosovo citizens are Muslim, it considers itself the most pro-US state in the world and firmly adheres to its most important ally's foreign policy.
Russia has been spreading "disinformation" about the situation in the Middle East, the president of Microsoft said Saturday, as tensions soar in the region due to the Israel-Hamas war.
Brad Smith, Microsoft vice chair and president, was asked about the role of the US tech giant in promoting peace at an international peace forum in Paris.
He said that Microsoft and its competitors were fighting against disinformation, in particular by using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Israel faced growing calls Saturday to protect civilians in Gaza as combat with Hamas intensified around hospitals where Palestinians have sought refuge from intense bombardment and gun battles.
The director of the besieged territory's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, said the compound was struck repeatedly overnight Friday-Saturday and lost power for hours after its generator was hit.
