Several Democratic lawmakers called Thursday for the Israeli and US governments to fully investigate a deadly 2023 attack by the Israeli military on journalists in southern Lebanon.
The October 13, 2023 airstrike killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other reporters, including two from AFP -- video journalist Dylan Collins and photographer Christina Assi, who lost her leg.
Wearing only sandals and cotton sweaters to protect themselves from the winter rain, Palestinians dug trenches in the muddy ground around their tents in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood in an effort to keep out encroaching storm waters.
Starting late Wednesday, heavy rains from Storm Byron have swept across the Palestinian territory, flooding tents and makeshift shelters, bringing yet more hardship to Gaza's residents, nearly all of whom have faced displacement in more than two years of war.
NICOSIA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Discussions on the need to tighten sanctions on Russia, including the possibility of a blanket ban on providing maritime services, should not be at the expense of legitimate businesses in the industry, key EU shipping nations Cyprus and Malta said.
The Group of Seven countries and the European Union are in talks to replace a price cap on Russian oil exports with a full maritime services ban in an attempt to reduce the oil revenue that helps finance Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters exclusively reported on Dec. 5.
DUBAI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Tehran called on the United Nations to intervene in what it called the "tightening of restrictions on Iran's diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York", according to a foreign ministry statement published on Thursday.
The statement also condemned a decision by the U.S. State Department "to prevent the continuation of the activities" of three employees of Iran's mission in New York.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ramadan Abed
CAIRO/GAZA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Torrential rain swept across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, flooding hundreds of tents sheltering families displaced by two years of war, and leading to the death of a baby girl due to exposure, local health officials said.
Medics said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died of exposure to cold after water inundated her family’s tent in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.
Weeping and holding Rahaf in her hands, her mother Hejar Abu Jazar said she had fed the girl before they went to sleep.
Israel said Thursday that Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza, after a top leader from the Palestinian Islamist movement suggested a weapons freeze.
The ceasefire, in effect since October 10, halted the war that began after Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it remains fragile as Israel and Hamas accuse each other almost daily of violations.
JERUSALEM, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A new report by Amnesty International has found that Palestinian militant group Hamas committed crimes against humanity during its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 and against hostages it took to Gaza.
The London-based human rights group said that its report, published on Wednesday, analysed patterns of the attack, communications between fighters during the assault and statements by Hamas and the leaders of other armed groups.
Dec 11 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is planning to appoint an American two-star general to command the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
A United Nations Security Council resolution, adopted on November 17, authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza.
By Haseeb Alwazeer
GAZA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - As winter bites in Gaza, displaced Palestinians set out every day to homes destroyed by Israel. There they rip out iron rods from the walls and use them to prop up their flimsy tents or sell to scratch out a living in an enclave that will take years to recover from war.
TAIPEI/JERUSALEM, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan's high-profile Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu made a previously unpublicised visit to Israel recently, three sources familiar with the trip told Reuters, at a time when Taiwan is looking to the country for defence cooperation.
