Jordan has seen a decrease in the number of tourists visiting its famed ancient city of Petra and other sites since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to officials.

Although Jordan does not border the Gaza Strip, it has been among several countries across the region impacted by the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Figures released by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority and reported Monday by the official Al-Mamlaka TV showed the number of visitors dropped by around 61 percent from 1,174,137 in 2023 to 457,215 last year.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -At least 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Gaza on Monday, including 10 seeking aid, health authorities said, adding another five had died of starvation in what humanitarian agencies warn may be an unfolding famine.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Monday to update Israel's Gaza war plan, a day before a UN Security Council meeting on the fate of hostages still held in the Palestinian territory.

Addressing a cabinet meeting with the war well into its 22nd month, the Israeli leader told ministers that later in the week he would instruct the military on how "to achieve the three war objectives we have set".

At a beach near Algiers, brown algae native to the Pacific Ocean cover the golden sand, posing a threat to ecosystems native to the area and their stench repelling swimmers at the peak of summer.

Following a recent government call to help clear beaches swarmed by the seaweed species known scientifically as Rugulopteryx okamurae, several volunteers and charities have stepped in.

"When it washes up, we can't swim," said Salim Hemmedi, a 43-year-old vacationer at a beach in Sidi Fredj, where volunteers raked up heaps of the plant.

The loved ones of those killed in a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port five years ago gathered to demand justice on the anniversary of the blast Monday, as Lebanon's president vowed to hold those responsible to account.

The August 4, 2020 disaster was one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions, and devastated swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500.

(Reuters) -More than a dozen House Democrats have signed a letter pressing the Trump administration to recognise a Palestinian state, with at least one lawmaker planning to introduce a pro-statehood resolution, Axios reported on Monday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday vowed that "justice is coming", five years after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port for which nobody has been held to account.

The blast on August 4, 2020 was one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions, devastating swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500.

The explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.

Atop air strikes, displacement and hunger, an unprecedented water crisis is unfolding across Gaza, heaping further misery on the Palestinian territory's residents.

Gaza was already suffering a water crisis before nearly 22 months of war between Israel and Hamas damaged more than 80 percent of the territory's water infrastructure.

"Sometimes, I feel like my body is drying from the inside, thirst is stealing all my energy and that of my children," Um Nidal Abu Nahl, a mother of four living in Gaza City, told AFP.

(Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross's regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Thousands of Palestinians protested in the occupied West Bank's major cities Sunday against the war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

One of the largest marches took place in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority located just north of Jerusalem, with hundreds gathering at the main square, waving Palestinian flags.

Many protesters carried photos of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel, as well as photos depicting the hunger crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where UN-backed experts have warned that a "famine is unfolding".