Israel said Sunday its forces had killed the spokesman of Hamas' armed wing in a strike on Gaza a day earlier, the latest fatality in the group's senior ranks in the nearly two-year war.

The Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Eyal Zamir, vowed Sunday to target Hamas leaders abroad after the military killed Abu Obeida, spokesman for the group's military wing, in Gaza the day before.

French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state, prompting similar moves from other Western nations, angered Israel and its U.S. ally by putting a two-state solution back at the heart of diplomatic efforts to end the devastating war in Gaza.

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Macron wrote that "our determination to see the Palestinian people have their own state is rooted in our conviction that lasting peace is essential to the security of the state of Israel."

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Saturday their prime minister had been killed in an Israeli air strike earlier this week, the most senior official known to have died in a series of attacks during the Gaza war.

An Israeli army statement later Saturday confirmed the strike and that it had killed Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi.

Dozens of families have fled a historically Alawite neighborhood of Damascus under threat of death, amid fears for the community's future in the Syrian capital under Islamist rule, residents told AFP.

The head of the international Red Cross on Saturday denounced Israel's plans for a mass evacuation of Gaza City ahead of a military takeover, insisting there was no way it could be done safely.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Saturday she was "not optimistic" the bloc would take action against Israel over the war in Gaza due to splits between member states.

Israel's foreign minister hailed as a "bold step" Friday a U.S. decision to deny Palestinian officials visas for next month's U.N. General Assembly, where France is leading a push to recognize a Palestinian state.

"We thank (President Donald Trump) and the administration for this bold step and for standing by Israel once again," Gideon Saar posted on his official X account.

The last photos taken by Mariam Dagga show the damaged stairwell outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip where she would be killed by an Israeli strike moments later.

Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press, was among 22 people, including five reporters, killed Monday when Israeli forces struck Nasser Hospital twice in quick succession, according to health officials.

Turkey announced Friday it was closing its airspace to Israeli government planes and any cargo of arms for the Israeli military while closing its ports to maritime trade between third countries and Israel.

The announcement by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan came on top of a ban on direct trade between Turkey and Israel announced in May of 2024.