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Yemen's Houthi fighters held a funeral Monday for their prime minister and 11 other senior officials killed in an Israeli air strike that decimated its political cabinet.Twelve coffins draped in flags were displayed at Sanaa's Al-Shaab mosque, as masked gunmen patrolled the area and thousands of mourners flooded in.Houthi prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials were killed as they attended a government meeting in the Sanaa area on Thursday.It was the highest profile assassination to be announced in Yemen in months of attacks by Israel during the Gaza war. The United States also waged an intense bombing campaign against Houthi targets from March to May this year.The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones towards Israel throughout the Gaza war.Monday, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a drone launched from Yemen before it entered Israeli territory.On Sunday, the Houthis detained at least 11 United Nations workers as part of a round-up, prompting a protest from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.A Yemeni security source told AFP on Saturday that Houthi authorities had arrested dozens of people in Sanaa and other areas "on suspicion of collaborating with Israel".The Houthis also fired a missile at an Israeli tanker in the Red Sea on Sunday, reprising a campaign they have waged throughout the Gaza war.The missile landed close to the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray with a "loud bang", the UK Maritime Trade Operations monitoring agency said.The Houthis, part of Iran's "axis of resistance" of anti-Israeli groups, vowed to step up their attacks on Israel following Thursday's killings.Their campaign of missile and drone strikes at Israel and on shipping in the Red Sea, a major cargo route, has persisted throughout the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.Last week's Israeli strike wiped out about half of the 22-strong Houthi cabinet, which plays a mainly administrative role.Rahawi, the late prime minister, was from the southern province of Abyan, which is not part of the large swathes of Yemen under Houthi control.The Houthis, who hail from divided Yemen's rugged north, have traditionally reserved the premiership for southerners in an attempt to win hearts and minds.US-based Yemen analyst Mohammed al-Basha said Thursday's strike may signal an Israeli shift towards targeted killings, an approach that gutted the leadership of Gaza rulers Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.The attack could mark "the beginning of a campaign of targeted assassinations against both civilian and military Houthi leadership, even at informal gatherings", he posted on X, calling it a "bad day" for the group.

Palestinians say water shortages are due to settler attacks UN reports increase in settler vandalism of water infrastructure Israeli military acknowledges reports but no suspects identified Israeli agency COGAT blames Palestinian water theft Shortages force reliance on costly deliveriesPalestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are facing severe water shortages that they say are being driven by increasing attacks on scarce water sources by extremist Jewish settlers.Across the West Bank in Palestinian communities, residents are reporting shortages that have left taps in homes dry and farms without irrigation.In Ramallah, one of the largest Palestinian cities in the West Bank and the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, residents facing water shortages are now relying on public taps."We only get water at home twice a week, so people are forced to come here," said Umm Ziad, as she filled empty plastic bottles with water alongside other Ramallah residents.The UN recorded 62 incidents of Jewish settlers vandalising water wells, pipelines, irrigation networks and other water-related infrastructure in the West Bank in the first six months of the year.The Israeli military acknowledged it has received multiple reports of Israeli civilians intentionally causing damage to water infrastructure but that no suspects had been identified.Among the targets have been a freshwater spring and a water distribution station in Ein Samiya, around 16km northeast of Ramallah, serving around 20 nearby Palestinian villages and some city neighbourhoods.Settlers have taken over the spring that many Palestinians have used for generations to cool off in the hot summer months.Palestinian public utility Jerusalem Water Undertaking said the Ein Samiya water distribution station had become a frequent target of settler vandalism."Settler violence has escalated dramatically," Abdullah Bairait, 60, a resident of nearby Kfar Malik, standing on a hilltop overlooking the spring."They enter the spring stations, break them, remove cameras, and cut off the water for hours," he said.The Ein Samiya spring and Kfar Malik village have been increasingly surrounded by Jewish Israeli settlements. The UN and most foreign governments consider settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law and an obstacle to the establishment of a future Palestinian state.According to the United Nations' humanitarian office, settlers carried out multiple attacks targeting water springs and vital water infrastructure in the Ramallah, Salfit and Nablus areas between June 1 and July 14. The Ein Samiya water spring had been repeatedly attacked, it said in a July report.Israeli security forces view any damage to infrastructure as a serious matter and were carrying out covert and overt actions to prevent further harm, the Israeli military said in response to Reuters questions for this story. It said the Palestinian Water Authority had been given access to carry out repairs.Kareem Jubran, director of field research at Israeli rights group B'Tselem, told Reuters that settlers had taken control over most natural springs in the West Bank in recent years and prevented Palestinians from accessing them.SETTLER VIOLENCEPalestinians have long faced a campaign of intimidation, harassment and physical violence by extremist settlers, who represent a minority of Jewish settlers living in the West Bank. Most live in settlements for financial or ideological reasons and do not advocate for violence against Palestinians.Palestinians say the frequency of settler violence in the West Bank has increased since the October 2023 Hamas storming of Israel.They say they fear the rise in settler violence is part of a campaign to drive them from the land. The UN has registered 925 such incidents in the first seven months of this year, a 16% year-on-year increase.Since the Hamas fighter attacks which sparked the war in Gaza, several Israeli politicians have advocated for Israel to annex the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.Reuters reported on Sunday that Israeli officials said the government is now considering annexing the territory after France and other Western nations said they would recognise a Palestinian state this month. The Palestinian Authority wants a future Palestinian state to encompass West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.Palestinians in the West Bank have long struggled to access water. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited civic rule in parts of the territory and relies on Israeli approvals to develop and expand water infrastructure. Palestinian officials and rights groups say that's rarely given.B'Tselem said in an April 2023 report that Palestinians were facing a chronic water crisis, while settlers have an abundance of water."The water shortage in the West Bank is the intentional outcome of Israel's deliberately discriminatory policy, which views water as another means for controlling the Palestinians," B'Tselem wrote in the report.COSTLY DELIVERIESAcross the West Bank, water tanks are common in Palestinian homes, storing rainwater or water delivered by trucks due to an already unreliable piped water network that has been exacerbated by the settler attacks.Cogat, the Israeli military agency that oversees policy in the West Bank and Gaza, said in response to Reuters questions the Palestinian Authority was responsible for supplying water to Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel transferred 90mn cubic metres of water to the Palestinian Authority each year, it said, blaming any shortages on water theft by Palestinians.Along with travelling long distances to collect water, Palestinians have become reliant on costly water deliveries to manage the chronic water crisis that they fear will only grow."If the settlers continue their attacks, we will have conflict on water," said Wafeeq Saleem, who was collecting water from a public tap outside Ramallah."Water is the most important thing for us."

The prime minister of Yemen's Houthi government and several other ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital Sanaa, the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council said Saturday, in the first such attack to kill senior officials.A number of others were wounded in Thursday's strike, Mahdi al-Mashat added, without providing details.Israel said on Friday that the airstrike had targeted the Iran-aligned group's chief of staff, defence minister and other senior officials and that it was verifying the outcome.Mashat's statement did not make clear whether the Houthi defence minister was among the casualties.Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi became prime minister around a year ago but the de facto leader of the government was his deputy, Mohamed Moftah, who was assigned Saturday to carry out the prime minister's duties.Rahwi was seen largely as a figurehead who was not part of the inner circle of the Houthi leadership.During the last year, Israel carried out a series of assassinations targeting senior leaders and commanders of Hamas and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, significantly weakening both groups.The Houthi-run news agency Saba ran a statement from Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi shortly after the prime minister's death was confirmed and quoted him as saying the group was ready to confront Israel.The statement did not mention Thursday's airstrike and it was unclear if it was made before or after the attack.Atifi runs the Houthis' Missiles Brigade Group and is considered their leading missiles expert.Sources confirmed to Reuters that the energy, foreign and information ministers were among those killed.On Thursday, Israeli security sources had said the targets had been various locations where a large number of senior Houthi officials had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.The Israeli military described the attack as a "complex operation" made possible by intelligence-gathering and air superiority."Our stance remains as it is and will remain until the aggression ends and the siege is lifted, no matter how great the challenges," Mashat said in a televised speech, adding that the group "shall take revenge."

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed Saturday that 660,000 children in the Gaza Strip are out of school for the third year in a row due to the ongoing war of annihilation waged by the Israeli occupation since Oct 2023. The war in Gaza is a war on children and must stop. Children must be always protected, UNRWA added in a statement. It reaffirmed the right of children to education, stressing that 660,000 children remain outside classrooms for the third consecutive year as a direct result of the war. In Gaza, children are at risk of becoming a lost generation due to the ongoing conflict, UNRWA stressed, calling for the importance of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allowing children to return to their schools and lives. Since the onset of the Gaza genocide, over 17,085 school students have been killed, along with over 1,261 college students. According to the latest figures of the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education for the period between Oct 7, 2023, and August 2025, over 25,213 school students have been wounded, along with 2,671 college students.

At least 20 Palestinians have been martyred and others injured in ongoing Israeli airstrikes targeting different areas across the Gaza Strip since the early hours of Friday.A Qatar News Agency (QNA) correspondent reported that the occupation forces carried out violent raids and shelling across various parts of the Strip, leaving dozens dead and wounded.Medical sources in Gaza confirmed that five Palestinians, including a man and his wife, were martyred when Israeli shelling struck displacement tents in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. In central Gaza, an Israeli drone strike on an apartment building in Deir al-Balah killed two citizens.Three others were martyred and several more injured when Israeli aircraft targeted a group of farmers in the city, while another person was martyred in a strike on the Al-Bureij refugee camp.The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that four citizens were martyred and others injured in an Israeli drone strike on a tent sheltering displaced persons in the Al-Sudaniya area, north of the Strip.In a separate attack, five Palestinians were martyred, and several others injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood southwest of Gaza City. Meanwhile, the Israeli army continued detonating explosive devices using booby-trapped robots between the Al-Sabra and Al-Zeitoun neighborhoods, south of Gaza City.According to the Ministry of Health, the death toll from the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza since October 2023 has risen to 62,966 martyrs and 159,266 wounded.

Israeli forces killed at least 16 Palestinians across Gaza Thursday and wounded dozens in the south of the enclave, local medics said, as residents reported that Gaza City suburbs were under intensifying bombardment.The Israeli military is preparing to seize Gaza City, the territory's largest urban centre, despite international calls on Israel to desist over fears that a ground offensive would cause significant casualties and displace the roughly one million Palestinians sheltering there.In Gaza City residents said families were fleeing their homes, with most heading towards the coast, as Israeli forces shelled the eastern suburbs of Shejaia, Zeitoun, and Sabra. Thursday's deaths took to 71 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said.The Israeli military said in a statement that it was continuing to operate throughout the enclave.The military had killed three Hamas fighters in the past day, it said, without saying how they had identified the individuals.A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said 31 patients, most with gunshot wounds, were admitted to the Red Cross Field Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Four of them were declared dead on arrival."Patients said they were injured while trying to reach food distribution sites," the spokesperson said, adding that since the aid hubs began operations on May 27, the hospital had treated over 5,000 "weapon-wounded patients".United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Israel's expanded military operation in Gaza City would have "devastating consequences".Guterres also said UN-led humanitarian efforts in the devastated Palestinian enclave were being blocked or delayed and people were dying of hunger as a "result of deliberate decisions that defy basic humanity"."Starvation of the civilian population must never be used as a method of warfare. Civilians must be protected. Humanitarian access must be unimpeded," he said. "No more excuses. No more obstacles. No more lies."With the enclave in the grips of a humanitarian crisis, the Gaza health ministry said Thursday that four more people, including two children, had died of malnutrition and starvation in the enclave, raising the number of deaths from such causes to 317 people, including 121 children, since the war started.Dozens of Palestinians were admitted to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis with gunshot wounds, according to a doctor there who said soldiers had fired on a crowd of Palestinians that had gathered near an aid distribution hub.Mohammad Saqer, the head of nursing, told Reuters most of the patients had been admitted with gunshot wounds to the upper parts of the body and that many were in critical condition.The patients had reported they were shot as they sought to collect food from a distribution site in Rafah, he said.The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani affirmed Thursday Qatar and Egypt’s commitment to reach a solution that ends the Israeli war on Gaza, despite all attempts to distort, disrupt, and undermine these efforts.His Excellency stressed that without the bilateral partnership and the scale of their efforts, the previous ceasefire agreement in the Strip would not have been achieved.He made these remarks during a joint press conference with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdel Aatty on the sidelines of the Sixth Session of the Qatari-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee in Cairo.The PM stated that the international community must exert pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and stop the famine currently affecting the Palestinian people, expressing hope for a ceasefire agreement to be reached as soon as possible.He noted that his visit to Cairo comes within the framework of the Committee's sixth session and reflects the vision of both countries' leadership to deepen bilateral relations, which have witnessed remarkable development in recent years, adding that the recent visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to Qatar was a significant milestone in advancing these relations.HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the Committee's discussions covered various issues, confirming the alignment of views between Qatar and Egypt on many regional matters.He emphasised their joint efforts to de-escalate tensions in several Arab countries, including Lebanon, Syria and Sudan.He also highlighted that Lebanon and Syria are witnessing irresponsible Israeli actions that threaten the security of the entire region, unfortunately without any deterrent response.In another context, the PM underscored the strong fraternal ties between Qatar and Egypt, rooted in solid relations between the two peoples and leaderships, as well as the economic foundations currently being built to establish a new phase of joint economic co-operation.He reviewed the package of direct Qatari investments in Egypt previously announced in Doha, amounting to approximately US$7.5bn, noting that several bilateral agreements and projects will be finalised in the coming weeks.He praised the growth in trade volume between the two countries and looked forward to further expansion in the future, emphasising that joint co-operation is not limited to the economic field but also includes cultural, agricultural, social solidarity, and societal transformation sectors.He considered the memoranda of understanding signed Thursday with the Egyptian side an important step toward diversifying the base of co-operation between the two countries.The PM underlined that there is a valuable opportunity for consultation between the two countries, which has not stopped and is not limited to joint meetings, but also continues through daily communications.He commended the scale of efforts made by both sides to reach a halt to the genocide being inflicted on the Palestinian people in Gaza, adding that it is shameful that these conditions have persisted for months without any action from the international community, appreciating the partnership with the United States and all efforts by Arab and Islamic countries that support the Qatari and Egyptian initiatives.He also explained that the past period witnessed intensive work to reach common ground for an agreement on the release of hostages and detainees, the exchange of prisoners, and a ceasefire as a prelude to ending the war. However, these efforts were unfortunately met with further disregard.He affirmed the great responsibility that lies with the international community to act in ending the famine and siege affecting the Palestinian people in Gaza.The PM noted that the Committee also discussed developments with regard to Iranian nuclear file, which represents a critical security issue for all countries in the region, underscoring the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution that ensures regional stability, which cannot be achieved through war but through diplomatic means.He called on Arab countries and regional states to cooperate in reaching such solutions.The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Dr Badr Abdel Aatty affirmed that the Sixth Session of the Qatari-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee witnessed the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding, most notably a co-operation agreement in the field of social insurance between Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity and the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority of Qatar, in addition to a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the agricultural sector between the two brotherly countries.During the conference, he announced the launch of a political consultation mechanism between the foreign ministries of both countries, as well as the signing of the minutes of the sixth session of the Committee, which saw broad ministerial participation from both sides, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, the Minister of Social Solidarity, and the Minister of Agriculture on the Egyptian side.He said that the convening of this session and its outcomes was a reflection of the commitment of both Qatar and Egypt to build on the results of the previous committee meeting, hosted in Doha in 2024, and the subsequent reciprocal high-level visits.He noted that the discussions addressed ways to enhance and develop bilateral relations while also pointing to an increase in excess of 54% in trade exchange between the two countries over the past year, in addition to Qatar's commitment to inject investments in Egypt amounting to $7.5bn, with work underway on specific projects to be announced in the coming weeks.Aatty said the Egyptian side presented promising investment opportunities and legislative and procedural reforms adopted by Egypt to facilitate the work of investors, including Qatari investors.He affirmed the commitment to empower the private sector in both countries and enhance its role in supporting the economy and development, confirming that the coming phase will witness the flow of more Qatari investments into priority sectors, including agriculture, food security, real estate development, tourism and hospitality, transport and logistics, industrial localisation, and renewable energy.Regarding regional and international issues, the Egyptian foreign minister said the discussions addressed developments in the Palestinian cause, affirming the alignment of Qatari and Egyptian views on the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ensuring full access to humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages and a number of Palestinian detainees, paving the way for a permanent end to the aggression and a comprehensive political settlement that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.He also stressed the firm rejection by both countries of any attempts at forced displacement of the Palestinian people, considering it a red line that cannot be accepted under any pretext.He noted the continued Qatari-Egyptian efforts, in coordination with the United States and regional and international parties, to reach an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire during which negotiations would be held to end the war, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and prepare for an early recovery and reconstruction conference for Gaza, with the participation of Qatar.Aatty highlighted that the discussions also covered the situations in Sudan, Libya, Syria, and Lebanon, in addition to developments in the Red Sea region, freedom of navigation, and the Iranian nuclear issue, affirming the alignment of Qatari and Egyptian positions on these issues and their commitment to resolve the same through peaceful means, away from military solutions.

Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) regarding the turning point in the Palestinian cause and the targeting of journalists in Gaza, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Press Center, Saad Al Rumaihi stated that the Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, represent a historic shift in the course of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the people of Gaza stood alone in the face of this brutal aggression that did not distinguish between people and stone.He added that the Palestinian people have recorded a heroic epic that will be immortalized in history. Now, as the second year nears its end, the struggle and resistance of Gaza's people continue, despite the imbalance of power between the two sides.Regarding the objective of the Israeli entity in continuing its aggression on the devastated Strip, Al Rumaihi stressed that people cannot learn the facts and what is happening on the ground and the course of battles, except through journalists and media professionals who deliver information to the public, as known in wars and major events.He added that they are unknown soldiers who stand bravely so that the world can see, hear, and read the news of these events and understand the reality and what is happening.Therefore, he accentuated, the Israeli occupation has deliberately silenced these voices as long as they convey to the world the true image and the tragedies faced by the people of Gaza.He highlighted that the occupation can only achieve this through the most heinous and extreme violations, unfortunately, through the physical elimination of these great journalists.He underscored that the Israeli assaults on Palestinian journalists clearly reveal Israel's insistence on imposing its unilateral media narrative, which contradicts the reality on the ground.In light of the world's failure and inability to enact binding laws to protect journalists and media professionals and defend them against Israeli arrogance, the Chairman of the Qatar Press Center affirmed in his statements to QNA, that the situation requires urgent action to protect journalists, so that the matter does not remain a mere dream difficult to achieve.Al Rumaihi confirmed that Israel continues its arrogance without any deterrent punishment from international bodies and organizations concerned with humanitarian and journalistic affairs.He reiterated the need to capitalize on the wave of international outrage and the storm of criticism directed at Israeli policy due to its continuous and deliberate targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip, including journalists, emphasizing the importance of harnessing the growing global humanitarian sentiment toward the Palestinian cause and Al Aqsa Mosque.He pointed out that the demonstrations and sit-ins that have swept many countries around the world now reflect this solidarity, even in the United States of America, where university campuses have turned into platforms for defending Gaza and its people.He explained that the Qatar Press Center has sought and continues to support the steadfastness of the people of Gaza through numerous media initiatives, seminars, exhibitions, news coverage, and other means, which it considers a duty as it lives through these events and follows their developments.The Chairman of the Qatar Press Center concluded by emphasizing the necessity of standing by the Palestinian people, moving beyond mere condemnation and denunciation, which is all we currently possess.He added that specialized global organizations must exert more pressure on Israel to stop its aggression against the Palestinian people, enabling them to obtain their most basic rights to live in safety and dignity.With every Israeli assault on media workers in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, renewed calls emerge from all press unions, media, human rights, and legal organizations around the world for explicit condemnation of these repeated crimes, with the urgent need to put an end to them, so that Israel does not succeed in its attempts to silence voices and images and prevent the transmission of the truth about the crimes it commits against the Palestinian people.

The casualty toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has reached 62,966 martyrs and 159,266 wounded.The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement on Thursday that hospitals in the Strip received 71 martyrs and 339 wounded during the past 24 hours.The Ministry added that since the occupation breached the ceasefire agreement on March 18, the recorded toll has reached 11,121 martyrs and 47,225 wounded.The number of aid-related casualties who arrived at hospitals during the past 24 hours reached 22 martyrs and 203 wounded, bringing the total number of those killed while seeking aid to 2,180, and the injuries to 16,046.Hospitals in the Strip also recorded four new deaths during the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition, raising the total number of victims of the starvation war to 317, including 121 children.The Palestinian Ministry noted that thousands of other victims remain under the rubble, with ambulance and civil defense crews unable to reach them due to a lack of equipment and the occupation forces' targeting of rescue operations in Gaza.

The Israeli military pressed operations around Gaza City Wednesday, as President Donald Trump prepared to host a White House meeting on post-war plans for the shattered Palestinian territory.Israel is under mounting pressure both at home and abroad to end its almost two-year campaign in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine.Mediators have circulated a truce proposal which has been accepted by Palestinian group Hamas, but Israel has yet to give an official response.On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 24 people Wednesday.The Israeli military, which is preparing to conquer Gaza City, said troops were operating on the outskirts of the territory's largest city "to locate and dismantle terror infrastructure sites".As aid groups have warned against expanding the Israeli offensive, the army's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Gaza City's evacuation was "inevitable".The vast majority of the Gaza Strip's population of more than 2mn people have been displaced at least once during the war.In Jabalia, just north of Gaza City, resident Hamad al-Karawi said he had left his home after a message broadcast from a drone ordered people to evacuate immediately."We scattered out onto the streets with no place or home to take refuge in," he told AFP.The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings in the north of the territory.Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president was to host top officials at the White House later Wednesday to thrash out a detailed plan for post-war Gaza."It's a very comprehensive plan we're putting together," Witkoff told Fox News, without offering more details.Trump stunned the world earlier this year when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its inhabitants and redevelop it as seaside real estate.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal which sparked a global outcry.In Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood Wednesday, residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight."Warplanes struck several times, and drones fired throughout the night," said Tala al-Khatib, 29."Some neighbours have fled... But wherever you flee, death follows you," she said.AFP footage showed thick smoke rising into the sky following air strikes on parts of Gaza City.Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday to destroy the city if Hamas does not agree to end the war on Israel's terms.Zeitoun resident Abdel Hamid al-Sayfi, 62, said he had avoided going outside for more than 24 hours."Whoever steps outside is fired upon by the drones," he told AFP by telephone.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.Speaking after a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Netanyahu declined to share what had been decided.The Israeli leader last week said he ordered immediate negotiations aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives, while also doubling down on the plan to seize Gaza City.Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Key mediator Qatar said on Tuesday it was still "waiting for an answer" from Israel on the latest ceasefire proposal, which would see the staggered release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody over an initial 60-day truce.

The Palestinian Presidency urged the international community on Wednesday to impose sanctions that would compel the Israeli occupation to reconsider its destructive policies in the region and the world, and to take immediate action to confront its defiance of international legitimacy and law, rather than limiting itself to a policy of condemnation and denunciation.In remarks, the Official Spokesperson for the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that the dangerous Israeli escalation in cities, villages, and refugee camps is condemned and rejected, most recently the storming of Nablus by military forces at dawn today, the encirclement of the Old City, the targeting of citizens, and forcing them to leave their homes.He noted that this is being accompanied by the ongoing war of extermination and starvation in the Gaza Strip. He stressed the need for the occupation to bear responsibility for the escalation of its military attacks and settler terrorism against the Palestinian people, asserting that the continuation of this policy will lead to the destruction of everything and will lead the region to further tension and instability.At dawn today, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed Nablus and Tulkarm, accompanied by large crowds of soldiers, and carried out raids on homes and arrests of civilians, amid a prolonged silence regarding these practices, which are increasing throughout the occupied territories and coincide with the war of extermination targeting Gaza and its people.

Norway's $2tn wealth fund, the world's largest, has divested from US construction equipment group Caterpillar and from five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds. The five banks are Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, First International Bank of Israel and FIBI Holdings, the fund said in a statement. The six groups were excluded "due to an unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict," said the fund, which is operated by Norway's central bank. The companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The Israeli embassy in Oslo declined to comment. Prior to its divestment, the fund held a 1.17% stake in Caterpillar valued at $2.1bn as of June 30, its records showed. The stakes in the five Israeli banks were valued at a combined $661mn, also as of June 30, according to fund data. The news was announced when the Tel Aviv and New York stock exchanges were closed. Shares in Caterpillar were down 0.4% in pre-market trading at $430.61 per share Tuesday. FIBI Holdings shares were up 4%, putting them on course for their best day since early 2024. Hapoalim's stock was up 3.3% and Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, and First International Bank of Israel were between 1.8% and 2.8% better off. The fund's ethics watchdog, called the Council on Ethics, said that "in the council's assessment, there is no doubt that Caterpillar's products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law". Bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar "were being used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property," it said. The violations were taking place both in Gaza and the West Bank, the council said, adding that "the company has also not implemented any measures to prevent such use". "As deliveries of the relevant machinery to Israel are now set to resume, the council considers there to be an unacceptable risk that Caterpillar is contributing to serious violations of individuals’ rights in war or conflict situations." The council, a public body set up by the Ministry of Finance, checks that firms in the portfolio of the fund meet ethical guidelines set by Norway's parliament. The fund is invested in some 8,400 companies worldwide. It makes recommendations to the board of the central bank, which has the final say. The board agreed with the council's recommendation. The Norwegian fund said on August 18 that it would divest from six companies as part of an ongoing ethics review over the war in Gaza and developments in the West Bank, but declined at the time to name any groups until the stakes were sold. On the banks, the ethics watchdog initially scrutinised the Israeli banks' practice of underwriting Israeli settlers' housebuilding commitments in the region. On Monday, the council said that all the banks excluded had, "by providing financial services that are a necessary prerequisite for construction activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem ... contributed to the maintenance of Israeli settlements". Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7mn Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Many settlements are adjacent to Palestinian areas and some Israeli firms serve both Israelis and Palestinians. The United Nations' top court last year found that Israeli settlements built on territory seized in 1967 were illegal, a ruling that Israel called "fundamentally wrong", citing historical and biblical ties to the land.