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Plans to get aid into Gaza by sea gain pace as airdrop mishap kills five

An international effort is gathering pace to get desperately needed humanitarian relief into Gaza by sea in a bid to counter overland access restrictions blamed on Israel as it battles Hamas militants.

The dire conditions more than five months into the war have led some countries to airdrop food and other assistance over the besieged Gaza Strip, but a parachute malfunction turned the latest operation lethal on Friday.

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US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones

U.S. and allied forces shot down 15 one-way attack drones fired by Iran-backed Yemeni rebels into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the U.S. military said.

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Erdogan says Turkey firmly backs Hamas leaders

Turkish President Recep Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara "firmly backs" Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"No-one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization," he said in a speech in Istanbul. "Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them."

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UN rights office says Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas amount to 'war crime'

The U.N. human rights office says in a report published Friday that the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem amount to a war crime.

The report covers the one-year period from Nov. 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023, when it says roughly 24,300 housing units in existing settlements in the West Bank were "advanced" — the highest number in a year since monitoring began in 2017. It deplored an increase in the building of new settlement homes in recent months.

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Israel is not just killing Gaza children with bombs, some are dying of hunger too

It's not just Israeli bombs that have killed children in war-ravaged Gaza — now some are dying of hunger too.

Officials have long warned over the risk of famine in the Palestinian territory that's been under Israel's bombardment, offensives and siege for the past five months.

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Top EU official says ship preparing to leave for Gaza with humanitarian aid

A ship was preparing Friday to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza with humanitarian aid, the European Commission president said, as international donors launch a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger and shortages of essential supplies after five months of war.

The vessel, belonging to Spain's Open Arms, will make a pilot voyage to test the corridor, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Cyprus, where she's inspecting preparations for the sea corridor. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus's port of Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.

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US envoy to Israel says Gaza talks not 'broken down', gaps narrowing

Talks for a truce in Gaza have not yet "broken down," the U.S. ambassador to Israel said, after a Hamas delegation voiced dissatisfaction with Israel's positions and left Cairo.

"The differences are being narrowed. It's not yet an agreement. Everyone's looking towards Ramadan, which is coming close. I can't tell you that it will be successful, but it is not yet the case that it is broken down," Jack Lew said at a conference in Tel Aviv.

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Biden says temporary pier in Gaza will boost aid deliveries as hopes for truce dim

U.S. President Joe Biden Biden said overnight that the U.S. military will help establish a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza as a way to boost the delivery of aid for Palestinians trapped in the besieged territory by the Israel-Hamas war.

He unveiled the plan during his State of the Union address to Congress. The move comes after Biden last week approved the U.S. military airdropping aid into Gaza.

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First fatal attack on shipping by Houthi rebels escalates risk for reeling Mideast

The first fatal attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on shipping threatens to further sever a crucial maritime artery for global trade and carries with it risks beyond those just at sea.

Already, the White House is warning that there will be a response to Wednesday's attack on the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden. What that will look like remains unclear, but the U.S. has already launched round after round of airstrikes targeting the Houthis, a rebel group that has held Yemen's capital since 2014, and more are likely on the way.

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Saudi crown prince transfers another 8% of Aramco shares to sovereign wealth fund

Saudi Arabia's crown prince transferred another 8% of shares in the kingdom's oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country's prominent sovereign wealth fund on Thursday. The shares are worth some $160 billion.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's decision comes as the kingdom is trying to build a series of megaprojects and invest in sports and other fields aggressively abroad to wean the country off of relying solely on oil.

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