GAZA (Reuters) -Palestinian mother Hanan al-Joujou, 31, has to feed her three children in the dark with a flashlight as there is no electricity in Gaza even after last month's Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

When they cannot afford to charge the flashlight, they go without food.

"We stay in the darkness - once the sun sets and the Maghrib prayer is called," al-Joujou said, referring to the Muslim sunset devotion. "If the light of the flashlight is available, we light it. If not, we go to sleep without dinner or light."

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA (Reuters) -A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane with at least 20 personnel on board crashed in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, as authorities reported an unspecified number of casualties and said rescue workers were headed to the site.

President Tayyip Erdogan interrupted a speech in Ankara to offer condolences for "our martyrs" - a term he regularly uses to describe not only combat deaths but also service personnel killed in the course of their general duties.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The Israeli military accused Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Tuesday of seeking to rebuild its combat abilities in south Lebanon to the point of threatening Israel's security and undoing last year's ceasefire deal.

Military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah was operating south of the Litani River in violation of the truce accord and that Israeli forces were conducting strikes on Hezbollah targets in that area.

When Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr gives an order, his supporters listen. On Tuesday, as many Iraqis lined up to cast their votes for a new parliament, that order was to skip the election entirely and spend the day with family instead.

The effects of the influential preacher's directive were on full display in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, where residents said they were spending a pointedly normal day.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Six ancient statues have been stolen from the National Museum of Damascus, which is one of the Middle East's oldest cultural institutions and houses a collection showing Syria's archaeological and artistic heritage.

A source at the museum told Reuters that a thief broke a glass display case on Monday and apparently stayed inside the building until evening.

Authorities have launched an investigation, according to the head of internal security in Damascus, Osama Mohammad Khair Atkeh.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -UNICEF said on Tuesday essential items including syringes to vaccinate children and bottles for baby formula are being denied entry into Gaza by Israel, preventing aid agencies from reaching those in need in the war-devastated territory.

As UNICEF undertakes a mass children's vaccination campaign with a fragile ceasefire in place, it said it faces serious challenges getting 1.6 million syringes and solar-powered fridges to store vaccine vials into Gaza. The syringes have awaited customs clearance since August, UNICEF said.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -A Turkish prosecutor has demanded a potential prison sentence of more than 2,000 years for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has been jailed since March pending trial on corruption charges that he and his main opposition party deny.

The indictment, presented by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor, accuses Imamoglu and 401 others of involvement in a graft network that allegedly caused 160 billion lira ($3.81 billion) in damages to the state over a 10-year period.

($1 = 41.9551 liras)

By Maria Cheng

TORONTO (Reuters) -As the latest meeting of the Group of Seven’s foreign ministers begins in Canada on Tuesday, Canada's foreign minister Anita Anand said the agenda will focus on issues including Arctic security, the war in Ukraine and securing peace in the Middle East.

Amid the current era of "geopolitical volatility," Anand said her U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio has been "a very constructive member" of the G7 and commended the U.S. for its efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.

Thieves made off with several ancient gold ingots from Syria's national museum in Damascus, a security source and another close to the institution's management said Tuesday.

The museum was spared during Syria's destructive civil war that ran from 2011 to late last year, and houses priceless artefacts dating back to antiquity.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The Israeli parliament has advanced a bill that would mandate the death penalty for Palestinian militants convicted of killing Israeli citizens, with some lawmakers believing it would prevent future prisoner-release deals.

In a vote held late on Monday - the first of four needed for the measure to become law - the bill passed with 39 in favour and 16 against, out of 120 lawmakers.