CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Israeli military struck a car in ​Gaza City on Saturday carrying ​senior Hamas commander Raed Saed, one of the architects of the ⁠October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, according to an Israeli defence official and Israeli media.

The strike killed four people, according ​to Gaza health authorities. There was no immediate ‍confirmation from Hamas or medics ​whether Saed was among the dead.

The Israeli military said it had targeted a senior Hamas commander in Gaza City, without given a name or further details.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday marked in Baghdad the end of the United Nations' political mission in Iraq, which supported the country's transition following the US-led invasion.

At Baghdad's request, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) will shut down its operations after 22 years of assisting the country in its transition following the 2003 invasion and occupation that toppled longtime ruler Saddam Hussein.

"UNAMI was honoured and humbled to walk side-by-side with the Iraqi people," Guterres said at the mission's closing ceremony.

By Friederike Heine

BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Germany will host U.S. and Ukrainian delegations over the weekend for talks on a ​ceasefire in Ukraine, before a summit with European leaders and ​President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin on Monday, a German official said.

A U.S. official said President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law ⁠Jared Kushner were travelling to Germany for talks involving Ukrainians and Europeans.

Dec 13 (Reuters) - ​A convoy ​of ⁠Syrian military forces and U.S. forces ​from ‍the American-led ​coalition fighting Islamic State came ⁠under fire on Saturday while on patrol in the ​central ⁠Syrian ⁠town of Palmyra, two local Syrian officials ‌told Reuters.

The ​officials said there were casualties. ‍There was no immediate ‌comment from ‌the Pentagon.

(Reporting by Syria Bureau, Editing ⁠by Timothy Heritage)

ISTANBUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, ​fresh from a meeting ​with Russia's Vladimir Putin, said he hopes to ⁠discuss a Ukraine-Russia peace plan with U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that "peace is not far ​away".

Erdogan met Putin in Turkmenistan on ‍Friday, and they evaluated "comprehensive ​peace efforts" to end the war, a statement from Erdogan's office said on Friday, with Turkey reiterating its readiness to support ⁠peace efforts.

By Ahmed Elumami

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Libya's national museum, formerly known as As-Saraya ​Al-Hamra or the Red Castle, has reopened ​in Tripoli, allowing the public access to some of the country's finest historical ⁠treasures for the first time since the revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

The museum, Libya's largest, wasclosed in 2011 during a NATO-backed uprising against ​longtime ruler Gaddafi, who appeared on the castle's ramparts ‍to deliver a fiery speech.

Dec 13 (Reuters) - International human rights groups on Saturday condemned the reported ​re-arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate ​Narges Mohammadi in Iran, with the Nobel committee calling on the Iranian ⁠authorities to immediately clarify her whereabouts.

Mohammadi's French lawyer Chirine Ardakani said on X that the human rights activist was arrested on Friday after ​denouncing the suspicious death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi at ‍his memorial ceremony in the ​northeastern city of Mashhad.

By Yuliia Dysa and Max Hunder

KYIV, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Russia attacked two Ukrainian ports on Friday, damaging ​three Turkish-owned vessels including a ship carrying food supplies, ​Ukrainian officials and one ship owner said, days after Moscow threatened to cut "Ukraine off from the sea".

Last week, Russian ⁠President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation against Kyiv's maritime drone attacks on Moscow's "shadow fleet" tankers thought to be used to export oil, which Kyiv says is Russia's main source of funding for its almost ​four-year-old war.

Dec 12 (Reuters) - A joint Saudi-Emirati military ​delegation arrived in ​Aden to discuss measures aimed at ⁠defusing tensions in southern Yemen days after the country’s main southern separatist group ​claimed broad control across the ‍south, a government ​source told Reuters on Friday.

The Southern Transitional Council said the takeover included the eastern provinces of Hadhramaut and ⁠Mahra, and that the separatist group is present in all eastern provinces of south Yemen, including Aden, the base of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government.

By Erin Banco and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence officials temporarily suspended sharing some key information with Israel during the Biden administration over concerns about its conduct of the war in Gaza, according to six people ​familiar with the matter.

In the second half of 2024, the U.S. cut off a live video feed from a ​U.S. drone over Gaza, which was being used by the Israeli government in its hunt for hostages and Hamas militants. The suspension lasted for at least a few days, said five of the sources.