Dozens of Israeli soldiers stormed the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday, witnesses and Palestinian officials said, with the Red Crescent reporting at least seven people wounded in the raid.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military confirmed that its forces were conducting an operation in the northern West Bank city, without specifying its purpose.

The raid began at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT), residents said, with soldiers in armoured vehicles storming several neighbourhoods of Nablus's old city, which has a population of around 30,000 people.

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Most Americans support a bid to sanction Russia's trading partners as a way to put pressure on Moscow to end its war with Ukraine, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, showed 62% of respondents back sanctioning Russia's trading partners, a strategy that U.S. President Donald Trump has partially embraced and has threatened to expand to include China.

The Israeli military pressed operations around Gaza City on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump hosted a meeting on post-war plans for the shattered Palestinian territory.

Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its almost two-year campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine.

Mediators have circulated a truce proposal which has been accepted by Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack triggered the devastating war. But Israel has yet to give an official response.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli tanks pushed into a new area on the edge of Gaza City overnight, destroying houses and prompting residents to flee, witnesses said, ahead of an expected meeting on the war to be chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Tanks late on Tuesday entered into the Ebad-Alrahman neighbourhood on the northern edge of Gaza City and shelled houses, wounding several people and forcing many others, who had been taken by surprise, to move deeper into Gaza's largest city, residents said.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo made a "strong appeal" to the global community on Wednesday to end the nearly two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas, calling for a permanent ceasefire, release of hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid.

"I once again issue a strong appeal ... so that an end may be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death," the pontiff said in his weekly audience at the Vatican.

By Emilie Madi and Maya Gebeily

RIYAK, Lebanon (Reuters) -Elias Maalouf crouched to examine a shrivelling grapevine in his ancestral vineyard in the sun-kissed plains of eastern Lebanon. Last year, Israeli air strikes kept him from picking most of the grapes. Now, a drought has slashed his harvest.

"Whether it's a political war or a climate war, we're suffering on all sides," said Maalouf, 42, whose family has been making wine for six generations.

The Venice Film Festival kicked off Wednesday with Hollywood royalty arriving for Italy's glitzy movie showcase where a strong line up of star-packed films will vie with protests about the Gaza war for public attention.

Julia Roberts and George Clooney are some of the biggest names at the 82nd edition of the world's longest-running festival, with top directors from Kathryn Bigelow to Jim Jarmusch all due on the sandy Lido across the Venice lagoon.

Bosnia's national museum has defended a decision to donate funds from the display of a precious Jewish manuscript to the people of Gaza.

It said ticket sales to see the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the most precious religious manuscripts of the Middle Ages, would be donated to "support the people of Palestine who suffer systematic, calculated and cold-blooded terror, directly by the state of Israel".

The move drew intense criticism earlier this month from Jewish organisations, with some abroad accusing the museum of antisemitism.

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia on Wednesday dismissed suggestions by Israel that its interventions prompted Canberra to expel Iran's ambassador as it blamed Tehran for directing at least two antisemitic arson attacks in the country's biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.

"Complete nonsense," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio, when asked about Israel claiming credit for Australia's decision to order Tehran's ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi to leave the country.

By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday President Donald Trump will chair a meeting on Gaza at the White House on Wednesday and added that Washington expected Israel's war in the Palestinian territory to be settled by the end of the year.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Trump had promised a swift end to the war in Gaza during the 2024 U.S. election campaign and after taking office in January but almost seven months into his term, that stated goal remains elusive.