Israel's military will have to execute any government decisions on Gaza, the defence minister said Wednesday after reported disagreements over the prospect of a full occupation of the Palestinian territory.

As the war nears its 23rd month, signs of a rift over Israel's strategy have emerged with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preparing to announce a new plan.

Netanyahu is expected to convene his security cabinet on Thursday to finalise a decision on the expansion of the offensive, Israeli media reported.

By Lucy Papachristou

TBILISI (Reuters) -Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday as the bitter rivals work towards a peace deal to resolve nearly four decades of conflict.

The two sides said in March they had agreed on the text of a draft peace agreement, but progress since then has been sporadic and slow.

Here is a look at the history of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the stumbling blocks that remain to inking a peace deal.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) -Weakened by hunger, many Gazans trek across a ruined landscape each day to haul all their drinking and washing water - a painful load that is still far below the levels needed to keep people healthy.

Even as global attention has turned to starvation in Gaza, where after 22 months of a devastating Israeli military campaign a global hunger monitor says a famine scenario is unfolding, the water crisis is just as severe according to aid groups.

By Steve Holland

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for peace talks at the White House on Friday, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The official said it was possible that the framework for a peace agreement could be announced at Friday's meeting. The Washington Post was first to report on the talks.

(Reuters) -Russia lodged a formal protest to Israel following an alleged attack on a Russian diplomatic vehicle near the settlement of Givat Assaf near Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say whether he supported or opposed a potential military takeover of Gaza by Israel and said his administration's focus was on increasing food access to the Palestinian enclave under assault from Washington's ally.

"As far as the rest of it, I really can't say. That's going to be pretty much up to Israel," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met senior security officials on Tuesday, with media reporting he favored a complete military takeover of Gaza.

(Reuters) -The United Nations on Tuesday called reports about a possible decision to expand Israel's military operations throughout the Gaza Strip "deeply alarming" if true.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told a U.N. Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza that such a move "would risk catastrophic consequences ... and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

"International law is clear in the regard; Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the future Palestinian state," he added.

BERLIN (Reuters) -More than 100 Israeli academics have warned in a letter that a failure by Germany to put pressure on Israel could lead to new atrocities in Gaza.

"Further hesitation on Germany's part threatens to enable new atrocities - and undermines the lessons learnt from its own history," the academics wrote in the letter, addressed to senior Social Democrat (SPD) lawmakers Rolf Muetzenich and Adis Ahmetovic and seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

More countries must recognise a Palestinian state and stand up to Israel to stop its "genocidal activities", South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told AFP in an interview Tuesday.

Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN's top court in December 2023 arguing that its war in the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide.

As some of Israel's allies "are now also saying, no, this can't continue, it means that it is bringing us closer and closer to the Israel regime (stopping) the genocidal activities", Lamola said.

The brother of Israeli hostage Evyatar David called on the world to "come together" to secure his freedom following the publication of a video in which the emaciated captive was shown purportedly digging his own grave.

David, 24, is one of 251 people taken captive by Hamas and its allies during their October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.