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Blinken to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt to discuss Gaza ceasefire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.

Blinken will hold talks with Saudi leaders in Jeddah on Wednesday before travelling to Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian authorities, spokesman Matthew Miller said from the Philippines, where Blinken is touring.

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Al Jazeera says Gaza journalist beaten, arrested by Israeli forces

Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera said Israeli forces had beaten and arrested its correspondent Ismail Alghoul during a raid on Monday on Gaza's largest hospital, urging his release.

The Israeli army said it was battling Hamas militants at the Al-Shifa hospital with witnesses reporting air strikes and tanks near the facility which was crowded with patients and displaced people.

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Ukrainian strike kills two in Russian border region

Ukrainian shelling killed two people and wounded four in a village near the Russian border city of Belgorod on Monday, the region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

"In the Belgorod district, after air defences repelled an air attack by the Ukrainian army, two people were killed and four injured in the village of Nikolskoye," Gladkov said.

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Israel spy chief to discuss Gaza truce with Qatar PM

Israel's intelligence chief, Qatar's prime minister and Egyptian officials are expected to hold talks in Doha Monday on a potential Gaza truce and hostage exchange deal, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP.

The meeting between Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatar PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian officials "is expected to take place today", the source said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of talks.

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War monitor says Israel struck Hezbollah arms depot in Syria

A war monitor said Israeli strikes on Syria early Sunday targeted at least two sites in Damascus province including a weapons depot, while state media said a soldier was wounded in the attack.

Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria since civil war broke out in 2011, mainly targeting Iran-backed forces including militants from Lebanon's Hezbollah as well as Syrian army positions.

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Deadly strikes hit Gaza as Israel mulls truce talks position

At least 61 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli bombardment, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday, as Israel was preparing to send negotiators to new truce talks in Qatar.

Israel's security cabinet and the smaller war cabinet were to meet to "decide on the mandate of the delegation in charge of the negotiations before its departure for Doha," the prime minister's office said.

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Trump warns of 'bloodbath' if he is not elected

Donald Trump told a rally in Ohio on Saturday that November's presidential election will be the "most important date" in U.S. history, painting his campaign for the White House as a turning point for the country.

Days after securing his position as the presumptive Republican nominee, the former president also warned of a "bloodbath" if he is not elected -- though it was not clear what he was referring to, with the remark coming in the middle of comments about threats to the U.S. auto industry.

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First aid boat unloads in Gaza as Hamas proposes new truce

A first aid ship plying a new maritime corridor from Cyprus began unloading its cargo of desperately needed food in Gaza on Friday as Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in the war.

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All cargo offloaded from first aid ship to reach Gaza

A U.S. charity said Saturday its team in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip had finished unloading the first maritime aid shipment to reach the besieged territory.

"All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza," World Central Kitchen said in a statement, noting that the aid was "almost 200 tons of food."

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Woman sets fire to voting booth in Moscow

A woman set fire to a voting booth Friday at a polling station in southern Moscow on the first day of presidential elections, Russian state and independent media reported.

The RIA Novosti news agency said a "woman set alight a polling booth" in the capital, while the independent SOTA outlet published video of a woman walking up to a booth before calmly stepping out of it as it was in flames, saying it was in the southern Marino district.

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