Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, blamed Israel, accusing it of "systematic obstruction" of aid deliveries to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel has approved the plans for the roughly 12-square-kilometre parcel of land known as E1 just east of Jerusalem, which will make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.

Washington, United States -- President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on the US central bank Wednesday, calling for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down -- after his recent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner. "Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote on his...

Paris, France -- Abrupt and potentially irreversible changes in Antarctica driven by climate change could lift global oceans by meters and lead to "catastrophic consequences for generations", scientists warned Wednesday. More broadly, a state-of-knowledge review by a score of top experts revealed accelerating shifts across the region that are often...

Israel has long had ambitions to build on the roughly 12-square-kilometre parcel known as E1 just east of Jerusalem, but the plan had been stalled for years amid international opposition.

Johannesburg, South Africa -- South African police said they arrested Tuesday the former owner of the world's largest rhino conservation farm on charges of smuggling the horns of the endangered animals. John Hume was arrested with five other people following a "complex investigation into transnational trafficking of rhino horns" that...

Mediators are awaiting an official Israeli response to the plan, a day after Hamas signaled its readiness for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Dubai police said on Monday they caught three thieves just hours after they stole a precious pink diamond worth $25 million. "The Dubai Police General Command has foiled the theft of a very rare pink diamond, valued at $25 million," the police said in a...

"The movement has submitted its response, agreeing to the mediators' new proposal. We pray to God to extinguish the fire of this war on our people," senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said.

Damascus, Syria -- Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war "should not be with blood", rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south. His remarks, released by state TV on Sunday, came as hundreds demonstrated in south...

A huge Israeli flag covered with portraits of the remaining captives was unfurled in Tel Aviv's so-called Hostage Square -- which has been a focal point for protests throughout the war. Demonstrators also blocked roads, including the highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they set tires on fire

Geneva, Switzerland -- An investigation conducted by the World Economic Forum's board on Friday cleared the body's founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of wrongdoing, after a probe into whistleblower complaints. "Following a thorough review of all facts, the Board has concluded that ... there is no evidence of material...

The latest deadly strike comes as Israeli military hinted at an approaching call to push civilians from Gaza City ahead of a new offensive.

"There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump said after emerging from a meeting with Putin. offering warm words but taking no questions from reporters - a highly unusual approach for the media-savvy US president.

Negotiators from 185 nations worked beyond Thursday's deadline and through the night in an ultimately futile search for common ground. A large bloc wants bold action such as curbing plastic production, while a smaller clutch of oil-producing states want to focus more narrowly on waste management.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Baker Eid Ahmed just can't get away from Saudi Arabia's notorious heat: he makes bread next to a sweltering oven for 13 hours a day, only to step outside into summer temperatures that can soar past 45C. Armed with an ice-cold water bottle and a wet...

"While 994 were killed in the vicinity of GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites, 766 were killed along the routes of supply convoys. Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," UNRWA said.

According to the joint letter, whose signatories include Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), at least 60 requests to bring aid into Gaza were rejected in July alone.

The approval for the expanded offensive comes days after Israel's security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza's largest city, following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory.

The London-based group also called for the "recognition of the State of Palestine", but added "this will not halt the unfolding genocide and famine in Gaza".

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's top security body, met with senior officials in Iraq on Monday, ahead of a visit to Lebanon, where the government plans to disarm Tehran-backed group Hezbollah.

Dozens of Gazans stood amid bombed-out buildings in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to pay their respects to Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent aged 28, and four of his colleagues killed on Sunday.

Oslo, Norway -- Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said Monday that it was selling its investments in 11 Israeli companies, following reports it had invested in an Israeli jet engine maker even as the war in Gaza raged. Nicolai Tangen, chief of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which...

UN says 'if these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings and destruction.'

The meeting, which will be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, "will discuss the situation in Syria and ways to support the process of rebuilding Syria on foundations that guarantee its security, stability and sovereignty".

Obeid, 41, was killed on Wednesday when Israeli forces "targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip", the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said in a statement.

Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory as they called on the government to secure their release.

European Council chief Antonio Costa warned "such a decision must have consequences" for EU-Israel ties, while Germany said it was halting arms shipment to Israel.

US President Donald Trump announced he will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday for what he called a "Historic Peace Summit" aimed at ending a decades-long conflict between two former Soviet republics.

"We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That's not possible with Hamas," the Israeli PM told Fox News.

The sinkholes are marketed as a tourist attraction in Dhofar, whose temperate climate draws many visitors from the Gulf during its punishing summers.

The Israeli press, citing officials, has predicted an escalation of operations, including in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, such as Gaza City and refugee camps.

"The GHF ... is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law," the experts said.

San Francisco, United States -- Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in the first half of this year and is ramping up safeguards against such schemes. "Our team identified the accounts and disabled them before the criminal organizations that created them could...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Nations must resolve the global plastics crisis, the head of UN talks told negotiators from 180 countries gathered in Geneva on Tuesday to forge a landmark treaty on eliminating the life-threatening waste. "We are facing a global crisis," Ecuadoran diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso said at the start...

Iran said Monday it would hold the United States accountable for attacks on its nuclear sites in any future negotiations, while ruling out direct talks with Washington.

His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war.

One of the largest marches took place in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority located just north of Jerusalem, with hundreds gathering at the main square, waving Palestinian flags.

Mumbai, India -- Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed...

Moscow, Russia -- A volcano erupted for the first time in 450 years in Russia's eastern Kamchatka region, the nation's emergency authority said Sunday, days after one of the strongest earthquakes on record hit the region. Pictures released by Russian state media show a towering plume of ash spewing from...

Nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for aid since May 27, the majority by the Israeli army, the United Nations said.

Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, along with the Saudis and Russians currently produce about 41-42 mbd.

Rome, Italy -- Award-winning Israeli author David Grossman called his country's campaign in Gaza "genocide" and said he was using the term with a "broken heart". This came days after a major Israeli rights group also used the same term, amid growing global alarm over starvation in the besieged territory....

The visit by Steve Witkoff came as a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch accused Israeli forces of presiding over "regular bloodbaths" close to US-backed aid points

President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure with leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada for saying they plan to recognize a Palestinian state in September, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Jerusalem, Undefined -- The United Arab Emirates has begun construction on a major pipeline to carry desalinated water from Egypt to southern Gaza, according to multiple sources. Technical teams sent by the UAE have started transporting equipment needed for the project, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday....

The foreign ministers of 15 countries issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative, a coalition of monitors tasked by the UN to warn of impending crises, stopped short of declaring a state of famine, but made clear the situation is critical.

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories -- Truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans on Monday after Israel promised to open secure aid routes, but humanitarian agencies warned vast amounts more were needed to stave off starvation. With Gaza's population of more than two million facing famine and malnutrition, Israel bowed to international...

Rights groups B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel have been frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language in their reports was their most stark yet.