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Israel says ban on Gaza media access should stay

Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor.

"Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted," said the government submission, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. "This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defence establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists."

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International aid groups grapple with Israel's ban in Gaza

Israel's decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians.

The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organizations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

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Iran accuses Israel of seeking to 'undermine national unity'

Iran accused Israel on Monday of trying to undermine its national unity after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for protests in the Islamic republic.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is determined to exploit the slightest opportunity to sow division and undermine our national unity, and we must remain vigilant," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said at a weekly press conference, before accusing Israeli and US leaders of "incitement to violence".

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Netanyahu says Israel 'stands in solidarity' with Iranians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel stood in solidarity with the people of Iran as protests rocked several cities in the Islamic republic this week.

"We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

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Syrian Kurdish leader in Damascus for talks on military integration

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said.

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At least 80 Yemeni separatists killed in fighting, strikes since Friday

At least 80 troops from Yemen's secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) have been killed in fighting with Saudi-backed forces and strikes since Friday, a military official from the group told AFP on Sunday.

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Saudi-backed forces make advances in Yemen's Hadramawt

Saudi-backed troops on Saturday made advances in Yemen's resource-rich Hadramawt province, military officials said, as confrontations between forces backed by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have triggered a deep rift between the two Gulf allies.

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Young Palestinian boy drowns in muddy water flooding his Gaza tent camp

The U.N. said Thursday that a Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip drowned in floods that engulfed his tent camp, with videos showing rescuers trying to pry his body out of muddy waters by pulling him by the ankle. It was the latest sign of the miseries that winter is inflicting on the territory's population, with many left homeless by the devastation from two years of war.

Health officials also reported the death of another 9 year-old boy in Gaza Thursday, but the circumstances were not clear.

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Yemeni transport ministry says KSA mandated inspections of Aden-UAE flights

Yemen's transport ministry, which is aligned with Emirati-backed southern separatist authorities, on Thursday said Saudi Arabia has imposed requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah.

The ministry, which is affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, said in a statement that it was "shocked" by what it denounced as "sudden procedures" requiring international flights departing from or arriving in Aden to stop in Jeddah for inspection before continuing their journeys.

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7 dead in Saudi coalition airstrikes on UAE-backed forces in Yemen

Airstrikes killed seven people in Yemen on Friday as a Saudi-led coalition attacked UAE-backed separatists who have seized huge swathes of territory, an official for the group.

More than 20 people were also wounded as seven airstrikes hit a camp in Al-Khasah, said Mohammed Abdulmalik, head of the separatist Southern Transitional Council in Wadi Hadramaut and Hadramaut Desert.

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