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Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood in move that threatens its largest opposition party

Jordan announced Wednesday a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood that could include shutting down the country's largest opposition party, after accusing the Islamist group of planning attacks.

The Islamic Action Front, a political party linked to the regionwide Brotherhood, won the most seats in parliamentary elections held last year against the backdrop of mass protests against Israel over its war with Hamas.

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Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 28

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 28 people, mostly women and children, the territory's Health Ministry said Thursday.

Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground war over a month ago. It has sealed off Gaza's 2 million Palestinians from all food and other imports since the beginning of March to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

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Palestinians might appoint vice president to serve under aging Abbas

Senior Palestinian officials loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas are meeting to vote on the creation of a vice presidency and could choose a possible successor to the unpopular 89-year-old.

The two-day meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Central Council, beginning Wednesday, comes as Abbas seeks relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

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Israeli strike kills 23 as Arab mediators seek long-term Gaza truce

An overnight Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed 23 people, as Arab mediators worked on a proposal to end the war with Hamas that would include a five to seven year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said Wednesday.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the strike, which set several tents ablaze, burning people alive. The military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters are embedded in densely populated areas. Another six people were killed in separate strikes, including a pair of five-year-old twin girls.

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Baghdad invites new Syrian president to summit, sparking political division in Iraq

An official invitation to new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to attend the upcoming Arab League summit in Baghdad has triggered sharp political divisions within Iraq.

Al-Sharaa took power after leading a lightning rebel offensive that unseated his predecessor, Bashar Assad, in December. Since then, he has positioned himself as a statesman aiming to unite and rebuild his country after nearly 14 years of civil war, but his past as a Sunni Islamist militant has left many — including Shiite groups in Iraq — wary.

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Yemen's Houthis fire missile toward northern Israel

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a missile early Wednesday toward northern Israel, a rare target for the group as a monthlong intense U.S. airstrike campaign continues to target them. The Houthis separately claimed shooting down another MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen.

Sirens sounded in Haifa, Krayot and other areas west of the Sea of Galilee, the Israeli military said.

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Germany, France, UK say Israel's Gaza aid blockade 'must end'

Germany, France and Britain on Wednesday called on Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of "an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death".

"This must end," their foreign ministers said in a joint statement. "We urge Israel to immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to meet the needs of all civilians."

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Hamas team heads to Cairo for Gaza talks

A Hamas delegation left for Cairo to discuss "new ideas" aimed at securing a Gaza ceasefire, an official from the group said, as Israeli air strikes killed 26 people across the territory Tuesday.

The renewed effort follows Hamas's rejection last week of Israel's latest proposal to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.

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Mahmoud Khalil's wife gives birth after ICE denies activist's plea for temporary release

Federal immigration authorities denied Mahmoud Khalil's request for a temporary release from detention to attend the birth of his first child, who was born Monday in New York, according to emails shared with The Associated Press.

Khalil, a Columbia University activist who has been held in a detention center in Jena, Louisiana for six weeks, requested a two-week furlough on Sunday morning, noting that his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, had gone into labor eight days earlier than expected.

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad says Syria detaining two group officials

Palestinian group Islamic Jihad's armed wing said Tuesday that Syria's new authorities had detained two of the group's officials and called for their release.

A statement from the Al-Quds Brigades said Islamic Jihad's Syria official Khaled Khaled and organizing committee member Yasser al-Zafri had been detained in Syria for five days "without explanation".

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