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Qatar says Gulf states 'unified' in calling for war de-escalation

The Gulf states are unified in calling for a de-escalation of the Middle East war, Qatar said Tuesday as Tehran launched new strikes against its neighbors.

"Our understanding is that there is a very unified position in the Gulf on calling for the de-escalation and an end to the war," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a regular news briefing.

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Russia has not seen 'clear' Ukrainian proposal for truce, Kremlin says

Russia has not seen "clearly formulated" proposals from Ukraine about a temporary ceasefire over the Easter holidays, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested a truce on Monday, saying Kyiv was ready for a mutual halt in attacks on energy facilities to ease a global oil crisis triggered by the Iran war.

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Lebanon asks Ukraine embassy to hand over suspected Mossad agent

Lebanon has asked Ukraine's Beirut embassy to hand over a man taking refuge there who is suspected of working with Israel's Mossad spy agency, a senior security official and a Hezbollah source told AFP.

Lebanon and Israel have officially been at war for decades, and Lebanese security services have arrested dozens of people on suspicion of working for Israel, many of whom were recruited online following the country's economic collapse beginning in 2019.

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UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Lebanon peacekeepers

The United Nations’ most powerful body will convene an emergency session Tuesday after officials announced that three peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had been killed in the last 24 hours. The meeting was scheduled after a request from France.

It was unclear who was behind the projectile and explosion that killed the three peacekeepers, as the U.N. says the incidents remain under investigation.

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Israel says four soldiers killed in south Lebanon clashes

The Israeli military said on Tuesday four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon as Hezbollah claimed attacks on troops in Ainata, Naqoura, Bayada, Beit Leef, Aitaroun and on the Qantara-Taybe road.

A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who "fell during combat" and a separate statement said another soldier, who had not yet been publicly named, had died in the same incident.

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Rubio says US hopeful after private talks with Iran officials

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday voiced hope for working with elements within Iran's government, saying the United States privately had received positive messages, AFP reported.

Rubio said there were internal "fractures" inside Iran and that the United States hoped that figures with "power to deliver" take charge.

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Israel military says soldier killed in south Lebanon

The Israeli military on Monday said a soldier was killed a day earlier in combat in southern Lebanon, bringing to six the number of troops killed since fighting with Hezbollah started earlier in March.

"Sergeant Liran Ben Zion, aged 19, from Holon... fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the military said. An officer was also severely wounded.

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Syrian army reports 'large-scale' drone attack on bases near Iraq border

Syria's military said a large-scale drone attack targeted its bases near the border with Iraq on Monday, the latest such incident since the outbreak of the Middle East war.

In a statement, the army reported "a large-scale attack by a number of drones targeting several army bases near the Iraqi border at dawn today", adding that most of the drones were intercepted.

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Beirut rescuers risk their lives to save animals

Armed with thick gloves and small plastic crates Kamal, Khalil and Reem jump on two mopeds and head into Beirut's southern suburbs, which see almost daily strikes by Israeli aircraft.

Hands scarred by a thousand bites and scratches, the small rescue team from Lebanese NGO Animals Lebanon uses two-wheelers to navigate streets made narrow by piles of rubble as they search for trapped animals.

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Israeli strike on ambulance in Bint Jbeil kills paramedic and patient

An Israeli strike on an ambulance belonging to the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee killed one paramedic and his patient Sunday, the group’s spokesperson said.

The incident came a day after at least nine first aid workers were killed by Israeli strikes on the south and, according to the Lebanese health ministry, some 47 have been killed since the war began.

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