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Gaza truce talks enter fourth day after US urges speedy deal

International mediators were set for a fourth day of talks with Hamas in Cairo on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden called on the militant group to agree a truce deal with Israel by the start of Ramadan.

Envoys have discussed plans to halt the fighting that has raged since Hamas's October 7 attack before the Muslim fasting month starts on Sunday or Monday, depending on the sighting of the full moon.

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Report: Negotiators propose several-day truce in Gaza

U.S. and Arab negotiators have proposed a short pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip to buy time for a longer cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, as talks appeared stuck with time running out for a deal before a Ramadan deadline, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

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At least 17 killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 17 people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, adding that a total of 97 people had died in the last 24 hours.

First responders with the Civil Defense circulated footage of rescuers pulling dead and wounded people from the rubble of a house, including a child with blood on his face who was not moving. The nearby European Hospital said Tuesday that it had received 17 bodies overnight.

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Turkey detains 7 more people for selling information to Mossad

Turkish police on Tuesday detained seven more people suspected of selling information to the Israeli spy agency Mossad, authorities said, the latest in a wave of such arrests in Turkey.

The suspects were taken into custody during simultaneous raids in Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. The raids were a joint operation with Turkey's National Intelligence Organization.

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Netanyahu leaned on Gantz to help unify Israel, now Gantz is more popular

The top political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with U.S. leaders in Washington this week to discuss the war in Gaza. Benny Gantz is a key member of Israel's War Cabinet whose popularity is on the rise — and who has a pivotal role to play in the country's future.

Gantz, 64, is a centrist politician who joined Netanyahu's ultranationalist and religious government soon after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The goal was to bring a sense of national unity to the country as it wages war against Hamas in Gaza.

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3 Red Sea data cables cut as Houthis launch more attacks in vital waterway

Three cables under the Red Sea that provide global internet and telecommunications have been cut as the waterway remains a target of Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said Monday. Meanwhile, a Houthi missile attack set a ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden, but caused no injuries.

What cut the lines remains unclear. There has been concern about the cables being targeted in the Houthi campaign, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have denied attacking the lines, however.

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Israel and UN trade allegations of 'terrorism,' torture

Israel has ramped up its criticism of the embattled U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees Monday, saying 450 of its employees were members of militant groups in the Gaza Strip, though it provided no evidence to back up its accusation.

Major international funders have withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency, known as UNRWA, since Israel accused 12 of its employees of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and left about 250 others held hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

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Diplomatic push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire intensifies

International mediators were with Hamas negotiators in Cairo Tuesday for talks on a truce to pause nearly five months of fighting in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.

Envoys from the Palestinian militant group and the United States were expected to meet with Qatari and Egyptian mediators for a third day of negotiations on a six-week truce, the exchange of dozens of remaining hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and increased aid to Gaza.

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Head of UN Palestinian refugee agency seeks General Assembly support

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is set to defend his organization's work at the General Assembly on Monday, after crippling backlash over accusations that some employees were involved in Hamas' surprise October 7 attack on Israel.

Philippe Lazzarini warned in a letter to the General Assembly's president that his agency is at a "breaking point" as donors freeze funding, Israel exerts pressure to dismantle the agency and humanitarian needs soar.

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Hamas calls on Palestinians to rise up during Ramadan

Hamas has called on Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank to rise up against Israel during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Monday, said Palestinians should “make every moment of Ramadan a confrontation.”

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