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Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza as mediators discuss truce in Cairo

Hospital officials in Gaza said Wednesday that Israel handed over 15 more Palestinian bodies, completing the latest swap of the ceasefire as the first phase of the agreement nears a conclusion and officials convened to discuss moving to the second.

It came a day after Palestinian militants returned the remains of Israeli hostage Dror Or, who the Israeli military says was killed by the militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Israel has agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage returned.

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Syrians protest after violence against Alawite minority

Several hundred people protested on Tuesday in Syria's coastal city of Latakia in the country's Alawite heartland to protest recent attacks against the minority community, AFP correspondents said.

Since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad -- himself an Alawite -- was toppled by an Islamist alliance last December, the community has been the target of attacks, and hundreds of people were killed in sectarian massacres in the area in March.

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Israel says killed Palestinian man behind West Bank attack

Israel's military said Tuesday its forces shot dead a Palestinian man they said had killed an Israeli, with the Palestinian health ministry confirming the death near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

In a joint statement, the military and the Shin Bet internal security service said forces near Jenin "eliminated the terrorist... who carried out the terror attack against Gideon Perry".

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Gaza militants say will hand over hostage body at 1400 GMT

Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they would hand over the remains of a Gaza hostage at 1400 GMT on Tuesday, under the terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Israel.

"The al-Quds Brigades and the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of an Israeli captive found in the central Gaza Strip at 4:00 pm Gaza time (1400 GMT)," the groups said in a joint statement, referring to their armed wings.

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US, Russia hold talks on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was meeting with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi, U.S. and British media reported Tuesday, days after talks with Ukraine in Geneva aimed at ending the conflict.

Driscoll met the Russian delegation on Monday with talks due to continue on Tuesday, ABC News and the Financial Times reported, citing a U.S. official.

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Trump moves to name some Muslim Brotherhood chapters 'terrorist organizations'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to begin the process of designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group, as foreign terrorist organizations.

The order made specific mention of chapters in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.

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Israeli army sacks several generals over October 7 attack

Israel's military announced the dismissal of three generals and disciplinary actions against several other senior officers over their failure to prevent the October 2023 assault by Hamas, the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

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Netanyahu vows to keep striking Hamas and Hezbollah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Sunday that Israel would do "everything necessary" to stop Hezbollah from regrouping in Lebanon and Hamas from doing the same in Gaza.

Over the past week Israel has hit multiple targets in neighboring Lebanon, with the Israeli military saying on Saturday it had struck Hezbollah launchers and military sites.

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Gaza civil defense says 21 killed in Israeli strikes

Gaza's civil defense agency said 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes on Saturday, as Hamas and Israel again traded allegations of violating the fragile ceasefire.

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Indian warplane crashes at Dubai Airshow, killing pilot

An Indian fighter jet crashed during a flying display at the Dubai Airshow on Friday, killing the pilot in front of hundreds of shocked onlookers.

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