Gaza war: Israel kills three Palestinians in West Bank, strikes continue in strip

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Israeli forces pushed on Sunday into southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled in search of shelter from intense Israeli bombardments and shelling.

Aid groups have sounded the alarm on the "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, warning it is on the brink of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.

he United Nations children's agency said Saturday that nearly one million children had been forcibly displaced by the conflict.

With fighting intensifying in southern Gaza, where Israel previously urged civilians to seek shelter, children are running out of safe places to go.

"They are now being pushed further and further south into tiny, overcrowded areas without water, food, or protection, putting them at increased risk of respiratory infections and waterborne disease," said Adele Khodr of UNICEF.

"The restrictions and challenges being placed on the delivery of lifesaving aid going into and across the Gaza Strip are another death sentence for children."

As alarm grew over Gaza's worsening humanitarian situation, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi urged his forces to "press harder" in their campaign.

Israeli settlers on Saturday night attacked Palestinian vehicles on the Ramallah-Nablus Road outside the village of Luban Sharkiya, south of Nablus, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, citing local sources.

The Palestinian vehicles were reportedly attacked with stones, though no injuries among Palestinian drivers were reported.

The Israeli army is reportedly expecting it will "fully capture" the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza within the next day, local media said citing unofficial sources.

The camp, home to some 116,000 registered refugees before Israel ordered its residents to flee, has been repeatedly shelled throughout Tel Aviv's military campaign.

The Israeli army said in a statement early on Sunday that five of its soldiers have died in the Gaza War.

Four soldiers were killed in the battle in Southern Gaza, while the fifth succumbed to his wounds after fighting on October 7, according to the Israeli army statement posted on X.

Injured Palestinians from the besieged Gaza Strip arrived in Qatar on Saturday for treatment on board a medical evacuation plane belonging to the Emiri Air Force, according to Lolwah al-Khater, Qatar’s minister of state for international cooperation.

#اوقفوا_العدوان_على_غزة 🇵🇸

بحمدالله وفضله وصول أول مجموعة من الأشقاء الفلسطينيين من قطاع غزّة للعلاج في دولة قطر على متن طائرة إخلاء طبي تابعة للقوات الجوية الأميرية.

كان سمو أمير دولة قطر قد وجّه يوم أمس- انطلاقا من أواصر الأخوة واستجابة للواجب الديني والقومي والإنساني-… https://t.co/niv3yLgPqO pic.twitter.com/OEeamZPQCb

— لولوة الخاطر Lolwah Alkhater (@Lolwah_Alkhater) December 4, 2023

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it hit several Hezbollah military positions in the latest round of strikes targeting Lebanon.

Hezbollah earlier claimed several attacks on Israeli military positions in northern Israel.

At least 133 UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) workers have been killed since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7, the agency said.

The NGO said on X: "Our staff in #Gaza take their children to work so they know they are safe, or can die together. 133 @UNRWA colleagues have been confirmed killed in bombardments, most with their families. The situation of civilians in #Gaza is untenable, we are reaching a point of no return."

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the UK capital on Sunday for the ninth consecutive week in support of Gaza, as heavy Israeli bombardment persists in the territory.

The protesters called for an immediate ceasefire, and voiced their anger at UK politicians for not taking a firmer stance against Israeli atrocities in the Strip.

Approaching Temple Station.#CEASEFIRE_NOW pic.twitter.com/xPlJFNlmaz

— CND (@CNDuk) December 9, 2023

Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi has slammed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling his words 'hollow', after the US diplomat  said he met with the leaders of several Arab nations to discuss efforts to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"Please spare us. Your posturing is ridiculous & your words are hollow," Ashwari said. "You bough Israel time for its genocide, & you supplied them with the $$ & weapons to pursue its slaughter & mass destruction in Gaza & its theft and rampage in the West Bank," she continued.

Ashrawi further accused Blinken in being "complicit" in the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza, which has now killed over 17,700 Palestinians.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was appalled by frequent Israeli attacks on health care facilities and workers across the battered Gaza Strip.

The WHO particularly pointed to Al Awda Hospital, which has been besieged since 5 December, where two health staff were been shot and killed while working inside the hospital.

"WHO is gravely concerned for the immediate safety of patients, health workers, and others remaining in Al Awda Hospital, as well as for the safety of health facilities, staff, and patients across the Gaza Strip. Health care is #NotATarget," the NGO said.

Hundreds of Israelis gathered in what has come to be known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for the release of nearly 140 people still being held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

As speakers took to the stage, the crowd held placards bearing messages such as "bring them home now".

Demonstrator Yoav Zalmanovitz said the government "did not care" about the hostages.

"They want revenge," he told AFP.

Fatah, the governing party in the West Bank, has called for a general strike in the occupied territory and Jerusalem on Monday in protest against Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip, as well as the US veto on a UN resolution for a ceasefire in the war-battered enclave.

The strike on Monday affects businesses, banks, schools and universities.

Israel's national security adviser claimed on Saturday that more than 7,000 Palestinian militants have been killed in the Gaza Strip amid its brutal war since October 7.

"This is a minimal estimate," National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in an interview on Israel's Channel 12 television. "It could be more, because we don't know everything beneath places that collapsed and tunnels etc. But that is the conservative estimate."

In a new statement on Saturday, the International Crisis Group said the priority in Gaza at the moment is to call for is an immediate ceasefire, which could get life-saving aid into the territory.

Additionally, the group said "talks about further hostage-prisoner exchanges, an extended ceasefire and interim arrangements for the strip would follow," it said.

“None of these things can happen unless the US presses Israel harder to end the war," they said, adding that Washington "needs to throw its weight behind an end to the fighting now."

Iraq's Kataeb Hezbollah militia vowed more attacks on U.S. forces in the region and said attacks against U.S. interests on Friday were just the beginning of "new rules of engagement," a security official from the group said in a social media post.

The Iran-aligned group, while not claiming responsibility for a rare attack on the US embassy in Baghdad on Friday, said the embassy was a forward operating base for planning military operations

Isareli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he appreciated the United State's veto at the UN Security Council's, blocking a demand for a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas in war-hit Gaza.

"Other countries must also understand that it's impossible to support the elimination of Hamas on one side, and on the other to call for the end of the war, which will prevent the elimination of Hamas," Netanyahu said.

A 17-year-old Palestinian teenager was shot and killed Saturday evening by Israeli forces in the town of Azzun, in the West Bank governorate of Qalqilya, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing local sources.

The teenager was identified as Mahmoud Abu Haniya.

This is the martyr Mahmoud Basem Abu Haniyeh (17 years old), who was killed by occupation bullets in the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, West Bank. pic.twitter.com/L5YduFZVrx

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) December 9, 2023

The Israeli military unit had stormed Azzun, sparking confrontations with local residents, during which soldiers fired live ammunition and threw toxic gas canisters.

Abu Haniya was shot in the back during the Israeli incursion.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed.

Israel will press on with its "just war to eliminate" Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday as he praised the United States for blocking a UN ceasefire bid.

"I very much appreciate the correct stance the US took at the United Nations Security Council... Therefore, Israel will continue our just war to eliminate Hamas and achieve the rest of the war's goals," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

British MP Jeremy Corbyn vows that protesters will not stop turning out while the Palestinian people are under occupation.

"Week after week, the streets remain full of people demanding an end to the massacre in Gaza," he posts on X.

"We will never go away so long as the Palestinian people live under occupation," he adds, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Week after week, the streets remain full of people demanding an end to the massacre in Gaza.

We will never go away so long as the Palestinian people live under occupation.

Ceasefire now! pic.twitter.com/qLpUkFMJWl

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 9, 2023

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) says on X that more than 100,000 people turned out for the pro-Palestine march in London today.

"We won't stop marching until there's a ceasefire and justice for the Palestinians" from the river to the sea, adds the PSC, one of the groups that organised the protest in the British capital.

The organisation's post includes the hashtags "#FreePalestine" and #"CeasefireNOW".

Today over 100,000 took to the streets of London for Palestine. 🇵🇸

We won’t stop marching until there’s a ceasefire and justice for the Palestinians #fromtherivertothesea #FreePalestine #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/YmVBfGtZV1

— PSC (@PSCupdates) December 9, 2023

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has warned that "society is on the brink of full-blown collapse" in Gaza.

UNRWA staff are distributing the limited aid the agency has, "but we are hanging on by our fingertips", the organisation posts on X.

It warns that if the agency collapses, humanitarian assistance in Gaza will do likewise.

Society is on the brink of full-blown collapse in #Gaza@UNRWA colleagues continue to distribute the limited aid we have, but we are hanging on by our fingertips.

If @UNRWA collapses, humanitarian assistance in #Gaza will also collapse. pic.twitter.com/iaMn6KVV1L

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 9, 2023

A military spokesperson for Yemen's Houthi rebels warns all shipping companies on Saturday against cooperating with Israel, saying they will be a target of attack in the Red Sea.

"If Gaza does not receive the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our armed forces," Yahya Saree says, announcing a ban on the passage of all ships en route to Israel.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have been firing at Israel and ships in the Red Sea in a campaign they say aims to support the Palestinians. US warships have shot down several of their projectiles.

(Reuters)

The Gaza health ministry says the death toll in the war has risen to at least 17,700 in the Palestinian territory.

"The crimes and genocide against the people of Gaza are beyond any description… Ending Palestinian existence with American and European support is inhuman," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra says, adding that 48,780 people had also been wounded in the war.

The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The shells are part of a bigger sale that was first reported by Reuters on Friday that the Biden administration is asking the US Congress to approve. The larger package is worth more than $500 million and comprises of 45,000 shells for Israel's Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its war on Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the US weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though US officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.

Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn't align with Washington's effort to press Israel to minimise civilian casualties.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.

The sale will be from US Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.

"Israel will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defence," the Pentagon said, adding that there will be no adverse impact on US defence readiness as a result of the sale.

(Reuters)

Israel bombarded Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary United Nations bid for a ceasefire in the war in the strip.

Aid groups say Gaza faces an "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation and is on the verge of being overwhelmed by disease and starvation.

At least 17,490 people, mostly women and children, have died in two months of fighting in the narrow territory, according to the latest figures from Gaza's health ministry.

Washington vetoed a UN resolution that would have called for a ceasefire on Friday, a move strongly condemned by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, as well as humanitarian groups.

As Israel continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, the ministry said 71 dead had arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah alone over 24 hours, and 62 at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An AFP correspondent in Nasser Hospital saw a child on a makeshift stretcher and others simply sitting on the floor waiting to receive care, while firefighters outside poured water onto the flames of a burning building partly destroyed by an Israeli strike.

Alexandra Saieh, of Save the Children, spoke of "maggots being picked from wounds and children undergoing amputations without anaesthetic".

The situation "is not just a catastrophe, it's apocalyptic", added Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam.

Two Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority's health ministry announces on Telegram.

Sari Yousef Amr, 25, was killed by Israeli forces, the ministry says it was informed by the General Authority of Civil Affairs.

The deceased's father says that he was injured after Israeli troops stormed and shot bullets inside his home, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

His father "said the soldiers prevented anyone from approaching him and providing treatment to him before they arrested him while he was bleeding, and took him" and his brother "to an unknown destination", Wafa adds.

Rami Jamal al-Jandab, also 25, died as a result of injuries sustained yesterday after he was shot by Israeli forces in al-Faraa refugee camp, the health ministry adds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a speech on human rights on Saturday to accuse the West of "barbarism" for its stance on the Gaza war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia.

"Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity," Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"All the values relating to humanity are being murdered in Gaza. In the face of such brutality, international institutions and human rights organisations are not taking any concrete steps to prevent such violations."

The human rights declaration, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948, enshrines a standard for human rights and freedoms for all people.

Here's a video of today's pro-Palestine march in London, posted by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on X.

"It's our 6th national March for Palestine and still we come out in huge numbers to demand a permanent ceasefire now!" says the PSC.

It's our 6th national March for Palestine and still we come out in huge numbers to demand a permanent ceasefire now!
London stands with #Gaza pic.twitter.com/yrdxTlrbAH

— PSC (@PSCupdates) December 9, 2023

The United States' veto of a proposed United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was a "complete disappointment", Turkey's foreign ministry has said.

"Our friends once again expressed that America is now alone on this issue, especially in the voting held at the United Nations today," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with state broadcaster TRT on Friday.

He spoke after a meeting with his counterparts from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League who met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.

The feeling of "complete disappointment" was emphasised during the meeting, the ministry said in a post on social messaging platform X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounces the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the 'Israel protection council'.

"Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defence council," Erdogan says.

Pro-Palestine protesters in London chanted "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" as they readied for their march to begin.

Footage posted to X by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign also shows demonstrators holding banners and other signs.

The March for Palestine getting ready to go! London stands with Gaza. #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/IUcz6Z2PgL

— PSC (@PSCupdates) December 9, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Gaza in a phone call on Saturday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Kremlin said, on the eve of an election in which Sisi is set to win six more years in power.

The Kremlin said Putin, who announced on Friday that he too would seek a new term in March, briefed Sisi on his talks this week with leaders from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

It said Putin thanked Sisi for his help in evacuating Russian citizens from Gaza and getting Russian humanitarian aid into the war zone there, and wished him well in the election.

Putin has repeatedly blamed the Gaza war on the failure of years of US diplomacy in the Middle East, while aiming to position Russia as an important player with ties to all the major actors in the region.

(Reuters)

A new process for inspecting aid for Gaza at the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing is being tested, but efforts to get permission for trucks to enter through the crossing and ramp up relief are still ongoing, a senior UN official told Reuters on Saturday.

Under the new system, trucks would come to the Karm Abu Salem crossing on the border between Israel, Gaza and Egypt for the first time from Jordan, before entering Gaza from Rafah, about three kilometres (1.86 miles) away.

But the trucks would need to be allowed to enter Gaza directly through Karm Abu Salem to alleviate an increasingly desperate situation in the coastal enclave, said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme.

Israel has so far rebuffed pleas from the United Nations and others to open Karm Abu Salem, but they both signalled on Thursday that Karm Abu Salem could soon help process delivery of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Until now, limited quantities of aid have been delivered from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which is ill-equipped to process large numbers of trucks.

Trucks have been driving more than 40 kilometres (24.85 miles) south to Egypt's border with Israel before returning to Rafah, leading to bottlenecks and delays.

A process to test the inspection system at Karm Abu Salem for trucks arriving from Jordan is underway, said Skau, who visited Gaza on Friday.

"It's good, it's useful because it would also be the first time that we can then bring in a pipeline from Jordan. But we need that entry point as well because that would make all the difference," he said in an interview.

"If you get that open, then it's just a matter of how much is available and how much can be absorbed on the other side in an orderly fashion, but then certainly that capacity would not be the issue.

"We have front-loaded with our internal resources so that we have food available in Egypt and in Jordan to reach some 1,000,000 people in one month. We are ready to roll. The trucks are ready to move."

Skau said the situation inside Gaza was increasingly chaotic as people grabbed what they could from aid distribution points, with larger numbers of people displaced southwards close to the border with Egypt and aid trucks at risk of being stopped by desperate residents if they even slow down at an intersection.

"There is a question for how long this can continue, because the humanitarian operation is collapsing," he said.

"Half of the population are starving, nine out of 10 are not eating every day. Obviously the needs are massive."

(Reuters)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the United States was "responsible for the bloodshed" of children in the Gaza Strip after it vetoed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory at a special meeting of the UN Security Council.

"The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a flagrant violation of all humanitarian principles and values, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people in the Gaza Strip," said a statement from Abbas's office.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) director Ben Jamal slams the UK government after Britain abstained from yesterday's UN vote on a ceasefire resolution.

The vote failed after the US used its veto, despite 13 of the 15 Security Council members backing the resolution.

Jamal's remarks come ahead of a pro-Palestine march set to take place in London today.

"Once again, we are marching, calling for a ceasefire and calling for an end to Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people, but also calling for an end to the complicity of our government and our companies and corporations in supporting that oppression," he says in a video posted on X by the PSC.

"Yesterday marked a new, shameful chapter in the complicity of successive UK governments with Israel's violations of international law.

"Yesterday, 13 members of the UN Security Council voted for a permanent ceasefire, voted for the release of all hostages, voted for humanitarian aid to be brought immediately into Gaza to prevent more suffering of the people who are currently displaced, who are currently sheltering wherever they can, unable to return to their homes.

"Shamefully, the US government used its veto to block that vote, and more shamefully, the UK government abstained.

"So, we are here to say the people of Britain do not support the government's position. They do not speak for us. The vast majority of the British people are calling for a ceasefire and hundreds of thousands of us will be marching today to echo that call.

"We are marching in support of the implementation of international law. We are marching for justice and freedom. We are marching in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Join us."

We're ready to March for Palestine in London today. As PSC Director @BenJamalpsc explains, we'll be showing that British people support the call for ceasefire in Gaza, unlike our Government which shamefully abstained in the UN vote yesterday. Join us! pic.twitter.com/5R9jTyRHtr

— PSC (@PSCupdates) December 9, 2023

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth says over 5,000 of the country's soldiers have been injured since 7 October.

The figure includes 2,000 troops who have become disabled.

The paper says the rehabilitation department takes some 60 new wounded soldiers and officers involved in the war in Gaza a day.

A pro-Palestine march will take place today in London, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) posts on social media platform X.

"Israel has resumed its brutal bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza. So we will continue to march for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege. Join us," the PSC says.

Rallygoers are to assemble at Bank Junction at 12:00 GMT.

🚨TODAY - March for Palestine

When: 9 December, 12 Noon
Where: Assemble Bank Junction, EC3V 3LA

Israel has resumed its brutal bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza. So we will continue to march for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege. Join us 🇵🇸#CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/qyszPqSq4W

— PSC (@PSCupdates) December 9, 2023

Aid charities have sounded the alarm about an "apocalyptic" situation in Gaza after more than two months of war, warning of starvation and an outbreak of disease.

In a video conference with journalists this week, international organisations depicted a bleak picture of what Save the Children called the "horrors" unfolding in the Gaza Strip.

"The situation in Gaza is not just a catastrophe, it's apocalyptic… with potential irreversible consequences on Palestinian people," said Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam, another UK-based charity.

"Israel safe zones within Gaza are mirage."

The health ministry in Gaza says 17,487 people have been killed in Israel's war, which has displaced an estimated 1.9 million of the territory's 2.4 million people and reduced vast areas to rubble.

Only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are currently functioning in any capacity, according to UN humanitarian agency OCHA, and little aid is reaching those in need.

"Those who survived the bombardment now face imminent risk of dying of starvation and disease," said Alexandra Saieh of Save the Children.

"Our teams are telling us of maggots being picked from wounds and children undergoing amputations without anaesthetic," lining up by the "hundreds" for a "single toilet" or roaming the streets in search of food, she added.

After a week-long pause in hostilities that saw hostages exchanged, Israel pressed its bombing and ground offensive.

Its army published a map it said was intended to enable Gazans to "evacuate from specific places for their safety if required".

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled northern Gaza seeking shelter in the south, only to report that they are being bombed there too.

"There are simply no safe spaces in Gaza, and we've seen this since the [Israeli] directive… calling on people to flee northern Gaza to the south," said Shaina Low of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

"Israeli directives coercing Palestinians in overcrowded areas in southern Gaza, with no guarantees of safety or return, blatantly violate international humanitarian law."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says that yesterday it received 11 ambulances donated by Turkey.

The vehicles were transferred through the Egyptian Red Crescent via the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai, PRCS posts on social media platform X.

📍Yesterday, the Palestine Red Crescent teams received 11 ambulances 🚑donated by Trukey through the Egyptian Red Crescent via the Rafah crossing. In addition to 100 aid trucks. The trucks 🚚contain food, water, relief assistance, medical supplies, and medicines.#Gaza… pic.twitter.com/jKrTuPJbiT

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) December 9, 2023

Iran warned on Saturday of the threat of an "uncontrollable explosion" of the situation in the Middle East, after the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the top diplomat of the Islamic republic, also appealed for the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to enable humanitarian aid to be sent into the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying the resolution "would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7".

"As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime [Israel] and the continuation of the war… there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region," Amir-Abdollahian told UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a phone call, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The Iranian foreign minister praised the UN chief's decision to use Article 99 of the UN Charter as "brave action to maintain international peace and security".

Palestinian club Jabal Al Mukaber have withdrawn from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup as a result of the Gaza war, the region's governing body has announced.

A statement on the AFC's official website said the Palestine Football Association had informed the Kuala Lumpur-based organisation of Jabal Al Mukaber's decision to pull out of the continent's second-tier club competition.

"The AFC notes the club's withdrawal with regret and the matter has now been referred to the AFC Competitions Committee for relevant further action, including the recognition of force majeure," the confederation said.

Jabal Al Mukaber had been drawn in Group A of the competition and had won their opening game 1–0 against Syria's Al-Futuwa before losing 4–0 to Al-Nahda from Oman prior to the outbreak of war on 7 October.

The withdrawal means all of Jabal Al Mukaber's results will be cancelled and considered null and avoid, in accordance with AFC tournament regulations.

The move is the latest to affect Palestinian teams as a result of the conflict.

The Palestinian national team's World Cup qualifier against Australia last month, which was due to be played in the occupied West Bank, was moved to Kuwait due to security concerns.

(Reuters)

Three members of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah were killed in an Israeli drone strike in southwest Syria on Friday, according to two regional sources close to the regime.

The strike also killed a Syrian who was accompanying them, one of the sources said.

The Israeli army declined to comment on the strike in Quneitra, also known as Baath City, near the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel has for years carried out attacks on what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting regime President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.

(Reuters)