By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, July 23 (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of Gazans could face acute hunger by the year-end as humanitarian agencies cut aid flows due to funding shortages, a global hunger monitor said on Wednesday.

The latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification found that acute malnutrition levels, particularly among children, had declined significantly after food supplies and nutrition services were stepped up following the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

However, it said those gains risk being reversed.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives backed a resolution on Thursday directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran unless he obtains Congress' approval, but the Senate voted hours later to block a separate, similar measure.

The House vote, the latest rebuke of Trump from Congress, was 214-208 in favor of the war powers resolution as four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it.

Yemen's pro-Iranian Houthi rebels have claimed attacks in the Red Sea on two Saudi oil tankers and say they will blockade the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a crucial passage into the Red Sea, as part of a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

- Gateway to the Red Sea -

Known as the "Gate of Tears" in Arabic, the Bab al-Mandeb strait sits at the southern tip of the Red Sea, connecting it with the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean.

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday blocked a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the Iran war until hostilities are authorized by Congress. The resolution reflects growing congressional concern, even among President Donald Trump's Republicans, over the war.

The Senate voted 49 to 47 not to advance the war powers resolution.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee)

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia depends on the kingdom recognizing Israel, throwing the agreement into turmoil just the day after it was signed.

The apparently new condition comes despite Riyadh having long resisted joining the so-called Abraham Accords with Israel, insisting on a pathway to a Palestinian state.

It was not mentioned in the civilian nuclear deal announced on Wednesday, which had appeared to be a major win for the Saudis even as Trump wages war on Iran over its nuclear program.

The US House of Representatives passed a largely symbolic resolution Thursday calling for President Donald Trump to halt military action against Iran, delivering another congressional rebuke as the Middle East war sharply escalates.

The measure -- which passed 214-208 after four Republicans joined opposition Democrats in support -- directs Trump to remove US forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes the war.

By Steven Scheer and Ali Sawafta

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, July 23 (Reuters) - Two Israeli banks will halt working with their Palestinian counterparts in the coming months citing risks of associating with possible terrorism financing and money laundering, Israeli officials said, fuelling concerns of a Palestinian economic crisis.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives backed legislation on Thursday directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran, the latest symbolic rebuke of the Republican president from Congress.

The vote was 214-208 in favor of the war powers resolution as four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for it.

From new neighbourhoods and commercial towers to leisure developments, Syria's authorities are seeking to attract foreign investors through a sovereign wealth fund created by President Ahmed al-Sharaa that critics say lacks transparency.

The ambitious development proposals even include the former army headquarters in central Damascus, prime real estate left abandoned after an Israeli strike damaged it last year.

After 13 years of civil war and decades of sanctions, the country is in dire need of reconstruction, but money to do so is scarce.