A famine declared in Gaza in August is now over thanks to improved access for humanitarian aid, the United Nations said on Friday, but warned the food situation in the Palestinian territory remained dire.
More than 70 percent of the population is living in makeshift shelters, it said, with hunger exacerbated by winter floods and an increasing risk of hypothermia as temperatures plummet.
Dec 19 (Reuters) - Major shipping companies are devising strategies for a potential return to the Suez Canal after two years of disruptions due to security risks in the Red Sea.
They have been rerouting vessels via longer, costlier routes around Africa since November 2023, following attacks on commercial ships by Yemen's Houthi forces, reportedly in solidarity with Palestinians during warfare in Gaza.
A ceasefire agreement reached in October has led some companies to explore resumption plans, although security remains a key concern. Below are the latest updates:
By Laila Bassam and Jana Choukeir
BEIRUT, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The committee overseeing the Hezbollah-Israel truce in Lebanon focused on Friday on how to return displaced people to their homes, addressing civilian issues to help prevent renewed war if a year-end deadline to disarm Hezbollah is not met.
The 15th meeting of the committee reflected a long-standing U.S. push to broaden talks between the sides beyond monitoring the 2024 ceasefire, in line with President Donald Trump's agenda of cementing peace deals across the volatile Middle East.
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 (Reuters) - There is no longer famine in Gaza, a global hunger monitor said on Friday, after access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries improved following a fragile October 10 ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification comes four months after it said 514,000 people - nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza - were experiencing famine. It warned on Friday that the situation in the enclave remained critical.
New rules in Israel for registering non-governmental organisations, under which more than a dozen groups have already been rejected, could have a catastrophic impact on aid work in Gaza and the West Bank, relief workers warn.
The NGOs have until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims not to impede aid distribution but to prevent "hostile actors or supporters of terrorism" operating in the Palestinian territories.
When Sudanese nurse Asmaa returned to the Darfur city of El-Fasher, she found only bodies where her neighbours once lived and no sign of the family she had come to save.
The Rapid Support Forces, battling Sudan's military since April 2023, seized the army's last stronghold in Darfur on October 26 in a bloody offensive marked by executions, atrocities, pillaging and rape.
More than a month after Iraq's parliamentary elections, the country's top leaders remain locked in talks to form a government while facing pressure from Washington to exclude Tehran-backed armed groups.
Amid seismic changes in the Middle East, where new alliances are forming and old powers waning, Iraqi leaders face a daunting task: navigating relations with US-blacklisted pro-Iranian factions.
- What does the US want? -
The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.
(Removes attribution to Israeli police from first paragraph)
JERUSALEM, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Israel has charged a Russian citizen with spying for Iran, including photographing Israeli ports and infrastructure under the direction of Iranian intelligence agencies, Israel's domestic security agency the Shin Bet said on Friday.
The Russian individual was then paid in digital currency, the agency said in a joint statement.
By Cordelia Hsu
SYDNEY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - As two gunmen opened fire on hundreds celebrating Hanukkah on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, 14-year-old Chaya Dadon’s mind was clear.
Across from where she had taken cover from the gunshots under a bench, Dadon saw two children stranded out in the open, beside their wounded parents.
"I knew in that moment, I felt like Hashem was sitting right next to me," she said in an interview with Reuters, using a Hebrew name for God. "He was whispering into my ear,'This is your mission: go save those kids'."
SYDNEY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A man credited with saving lives for wrestling a gun from one of the alleged attackers during a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach received a cheque for more than A$2.5 million ($1.65 million) on Friday, after tens of thousands of people contributed to a donation website.
Ahmed al Ahmed hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the gunmen from behind, seizing his weapon and knocking him to the ground. Ahmed suffered gunshot wounds after apparently being fired on by a second perpetrator and remains in hospital after undergoing surgery.
