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Saudi-hosted summit says Mideast peace requires end to Israeli occupation

Arab and Muslim leaders have demanded that Israel withdraw from occupied Palestinian territories as a precondition for regional peace, while denouncing "shocking" Israeli crimes in war-ravaged Gaza.

A summit meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday gave the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's 57 nations a chance to speak with one voice on turmoil engulfing the region, more than a year into the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

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Israel's military building along UN-patrolled demilitarized zone in Syria

Israel has begun a construction project along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, apparently laying asphalt for a road right along the frontier, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.

Israeli troops have entered the demilitarized zone during the work, the United Nations confirmed to the AP, a violation of the cease-fire rules governing the area.

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Iran condemns Israeli assassinations as 'organized terrorism'

"The world is waiting" for Donald Trump’s incoming U.S. government to "immediately" end Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref told a summit of Arab and Islamic countries on Monday.

"The American government is the main supporter of the actions of the Zionist regime (Israel), and the world is waiting for the promise of the new government of this country to immediately stop the war against the innocent people of Gaza and Lebanon," Aref told the joint Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit.

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Saudi crown prince demands immediate Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire at Arab summit

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler called for immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon at a joint Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit that will renew calls for a Palestinian state on Monday.

Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Riyadh, more than a year into the Israel-Hamas war and regional escalation, in what is seen as a chance to send a message to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

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Israel top diplomat says Palestinian state creation not 'realistic'

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters in Jerusalem Monday that the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state was not "realistic".

"I don't think this position is realistic today and we must be realistic," the newly appointed minister said in response to a question over the creation of a Palestinian state state in exchange for normalization with Arab countries, adding that a Palestinian state would be "a Hamas state".

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What does Qatar's suspension of mediation mean for the Gaza war?

Qatar's suspension of its crucial mediation between Israel and Hamas has crushed hopes for a long-stalled truce in the Gaza war and hostage release deal.

The wealthy Gulf country hosts the largest U.S. base in the Middle East and Hamas's political office, and has played a pivotal role in indirect talks since the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

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Israeli strike closes Syria’s main north-south highway

Syrian state media on Monday reported an Israeli strike on a village near the city of Homs, a day after a deadly strike on a building in the Damascus area.

"An Israeli aggression" targeted the "surroundings of the Shinshar region south of Homs", state news agency SANA said, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike targeted a Hezbollah munitions warehouse.

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Israel strike on Syria kills 9 including Hezbollah commander

Israel struck an apartment belonging to Hezbollah in a stronghold of pro-Iran groups south of Damascus on Sunday, killing nine people including a commander, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one of the dead was a Lebanese commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Syria.

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Senior UAE diplomat calls for de-escalation in Mideast wars

A senior diplomat for the United Arab Emirates called on the world to focus on the plight of civilians and de-escalate the ongoing Mideast wars.

Anwar Gargash’s remarks Monday, made at the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, followed the pattern of comments made by the UAE amid the Mideast wars. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms home to Dubai, diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020.

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Pro-Iran factions in Iraq claim responsibility for four drone attacks on Israel

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of pro-Iran factions, claimed responsibility for four drone attacks on Monday targeting "vital targets" in Israel.

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