The Israeli military said eight soldiers were wounded on Thursday when a driver deliberately rammed his car into a bus stop in what police called a "terror attack".

The army said two soldiers were "moderately injured" and six "lightly injured" in the attack at the Beit Lid junction near Kfar Yona in central Israel.

"The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment and their families have been notified," it said in a statement.

The United States joined Israel on Thursday in pulling its negotiators from Gaza ceasefire talks, with special envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for failing to reach a deal and saying Washington would "consider alternative options".

France meanwhile announced it would formally recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, a move President Emmanuel Macron said can "contribute to the security of all in the Middle East".

(Reuters) -Israel is examining Hamas's response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

Hamas said on Wednesday it had submitted its response to mediators but did not disclose the content.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Maayan Lubell; Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Two people were killed and hundreds evacuated as a massive wildfire tore through southern Cyprus, destroying homes and threatening communities amid an intense heatwave.

Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze after it erupted in mountainous terrain north of the southern city of Limassol midday Wednesday, driven by strong winds and searing temperatures.

By Christine Chen

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Five Australian women who say they were pulled from a Qatar Airways flight by armed guards and strip-searched have won the right to sue the airline, after a court on Thursday overturned an earlier decision to throw out the case.

Women on 10 Qatar Airways flights, including 13 Australians, were subjected to invasive examinations to see if they had recently given birth after a newborn baby was found abandoned at Doha's Hamad Airport in October 2020.

Resurgent jihadist attacks, huge cuts in foreign aid and a spiralling cost of living: hunger is looming in northeastern Nigeria, where more than a million people face starvation.

Before insurgency upended daily life, Damboa was a regional farming hub. Today it stands on the frontline of survival.

Located around 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of Borno state capital Maiduguri, the town lies on the fringes of the Sambisa forest, a game reserve turned jihadist enclave.

RIYADH (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's investment minister led a business delegation travelling to Syria on Wednesday, where they were expected to sign deals worth $4 billion to $6 billion as part of Riyadh's efforts to support the country's post-war recovery.

The Gulf kingdom has been a crucial supporter of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government, which came to power after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December and is now seeking to rebuild Syria after a 14-year civil war.

(Reuters) -Syria will sign 44 agreements with Saudi Arabia estimated to be worth at nearly $6 billion, Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Moustafa said on Wednesday.

He spoke at a press conference as Damascus hosts a Saudi-Syrian investment conference attended by a top Saudi business delegation.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din, Editing by William Maclean)

OTTAWA (Reuters) -The Canadian government said on Wednesday that Israeli military operations against civilians and aid workers in Gaza were unacceptable, and called for the immediate resumption of U.N.-led aid distribution in the war-torn enclave.

"Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable," the Canadian foreign ministry said on X.

Amnesty International said on Thursday that Iran fired widely-banned cluster munitions at Israel during a war between the two countries in June, in attacks that endangered civilians.

"Last month, the Iranian forces fired ballistic missiles whose warheads contained submunitions into populated residential areas of Israel," the human rights group said, citing new research.

The organisation said it analysed photos and videos showing cluster munitions that, according to media reports, struck inside the Gush Dan metropolitan area around Tel Aviv on June 19.