Middle East Latest News       12/26 07:41

   The latest news from the Israeli-Hamas war.


   (AP) -- Five Palestinian journalists have been killed by an Israeli strike 
in the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said Thursday. Israel's military said it 
targeted a group of militants allied with Hamas, which ignited the war with its 
Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel.

   The strike hit a vehicle outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat 
refugee camp. Associated Press video showed the burned shell of a van with 
press markings. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds 
Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group.

   More than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the 
war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has not allowed 
foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

   Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 
Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's 
Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in 
its count.

   Hamas's attack on southern Israel in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 
about 1,200 people, while 250 others were taken hostage by Palestinian 
militants. Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, although only 
two-thirds are believed to still be alive.

   **

   Lebanese military says Israel violated the ceasefire agreement by entering 
southern Lebanon

   BEIRUT -- The Lebanese military said Thursday that Israeli troops encroached 
on areas of southern Lebanon, violating a ceasefire agreement that ended the 
war between Israel and the Hezbollah group.

   The U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect a month ago called for 
Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops to leave southern Lebanon over a 60-day 
period as Lebanese army soldiers gradually deploy in the country south of the 
Litani River. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported 
incident.

   Meanwhile, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli bulldozers 
are setting up dirt barricades that would close off the road between Wadi 
Slouqi and Wadi Hujeir.

   Lebanon's military said it brought reinforcements into the areas entered by 
Israeli troops. NNA said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, 
known as UNIFIL, sent a patrol unit to an area near the southern town of 
Qantara where Israeli forces are present.

   UNIFIL in a statement expressed its "concern at continuing destruction by 
the IDF (Israeli military) in residential areas, agricultural land, and road 
networks in south Lebanon."

   Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun earlier Thursday traveled to Saudi 
Arabia as part of ongoing efforts by the cash-strapped military to find 
financial support to deploy in larger numbers.

   The Lebanese military and government have complained about Israeli strikes 
and overflights in the country to a new monitoring committee headed by the U.S. 
that also includes France.

   **

   Israeli strike kills five Palestinian journalists, Gaza Health Ministry says

   DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian 
journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry 
said Thursday. The Israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants.

   The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat 
refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working 
for the local Quds News Network.

   The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a 
militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern 
Israel ignited the war. Associated Press video showed the incinerated shell of 
a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors.

   The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters 
have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign 
reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

   **

   China pledges 2 more shipments of aid to Gaza

   BEIJING -- China has pledged two more shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza, 
in an indication of support for the Palestinian Authority, state media reported 
Thursday. The agreement was overseen in Cairo by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt 
Liao Liqiang and Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh.

   "To ease the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, the Chinese 
government has continued to provide assistance to Palestine," Liao was quoted 
as saying. The types and quantities of aid to be delivered via Egypt were not 
given, but China has previously shipped food and medicine to Gaza. China has 
longstanding ties with the Palestinian Authority but has also sought to 
strengthen economic and political relations with Israel.

   Al-Louh "voiced appreciation for China's consistent and firm support for the 
just cause of the Palestinian people and for raising this issue on 
international occasions," state media said.

   **

   UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Houthi attacks

   UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting 
on Monday at Israel's request to discuss recent attacks by Yemen's Houthi 
rebels.

   Israel's U.N. Mission said Wednesday the meeting will take place at 10 a.m. 
Monday.

   Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said he expects the council will condemn 
the Houthi attacks.

   He urged the council "to enforce international law and hold Iran, the 
Houthis' patron, accountable."

   Alluding to Israeli retaliation for the attacks, Danon said "It seems that 
the Houthis have not yet understood what happens to those who try to harm the 
state of Israel."