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UN aid agency says Gaza convoy came under Israeli fire

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday an aid convoy came under fire by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip without causing any casualties.

"Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army -- our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage," UNRWA's director in Gaza, Tom White, wrote on X.

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Israel troops ignored pleas for 'help' before hostage killings

Israeli soldiers ignored cries for "help" when they stormed a Gaza building holding three hostages just days before killing them by mistake, said a military investigation published on Thursday.

The soldiers also heard "hostages" shouted in Hebrew on December 10, but interpreted that as a "terrorist deception attempt" by Hamas militants to lure them into the building in the Gaza City district of Shejaiya, the probe said.

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Israel strikes south Syria and Damascus

Israeli air strikes hit southern Syria, the Syrian defence ministry said, with state media reporting attacks near the capital Damascus.

"At approximately 23:05 (20:05 GMT) today, the Israeli enemy carried out air strikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some points in the southern region," the defence ministry said in a statement Thursday, reporting no casualties.

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Israel bombs south Gaza as Hamas officials due in Cairo for truce talks

Egypt is due to host Friday a high-level Hamas delegation for talks aimed at putting an end to the nearly 12-week war with Israel that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

The Cairo meeting comes as fighting -- triggered by Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on Israel -- rages in the besieged Palestinian territory's south and centre.

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Drone launched by Iraqi militants hits Israel-annexed Golan Heights

A drone crashed near a village in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, Israel's army said Thursday, after an Iraqi armed group with links to Hamas militants claimed responsibility for an attack in the area.

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Qatari court reduces death sentence handed to 8 retired Indian navy officers charged with spying

Qatar's Court of Appeal reduced Thursday the death sentence handed in October to eight retired Indian navy officers on spy charges, the Indian foreign ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement the detailed verdict has not been received yet. "We are in close touch with the legal team as well as family members to decide on the next steps," he said.

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A visible reminder for years: Number of wounded Israeli soldiers mounts

Igor Tudoran spent just 12 hours inside the Gaza Strip before a missile slammed into his tank, leaving him with a life-altering injury.

"Already within the tank, I understood from the condition of my leg that I would lose it. But the question was how much of it will I lose," he said, seated on a bed in the hospital where he has been treated since he was wounded last month.

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Israel bombs Gaza as UN warns civilians face 'grave peril'

Israeli forces on Thursday heavily bombed besieged Gaza as the centre of fierce combat against Hamas moves steadily south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

The war that started with the Hamas attack of October 7 has devastated much of northern Gaza, while air and artillery strikes and house-to-house fighting have been heaviest in the southern city of Khan Younis.

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Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank raid

The Israeli military says forces carried out an operation across multiple areas of the West Bank and arrested 21 Palestinians alleged to have helped finance Hamas.

In a statement Thursday, the military alleged the suspects were financial services providers who allegedly funded Hamas through digital currency and cash. Israeli media said those arrested worked as foreign exchange brokers.

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Iranians mourn Guards' commander killed in Israeli strike

Thousands massed Thursday in the Iranian capital for the funeral of senior Revolutionary Guards commander Razi Moussavi, three days after he was killed in what Tehran says was an Israeli strike.

The crowd in Tehran's central Imam Hossein square chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America".

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