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US promises Gaza food plan after envoy visit

President Donald Trump's special envoy promised a plan to deliver more food to Gaza after inspecting a U.S.-backed distribution centre on Friday, as the United Nations said Israeli forces had killed hundreds of hungry Palestinians waiting for aid over the past two months.

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Israel army chief warns of combat 'without rest' unless hostages are freed

Israel's top general has warned that there will be no respite in fighting in Gaza if negotiations fail to quickly secure the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

"I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages," said army chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, according to a military statement.

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US envoy Witkoff visits Gaza to 'help craft aid plan'

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said Friday that his visit to U.S.-backed aid stations in Gaza would help Washington draw up a plan to deliver more aid to the Palestinian territory.

"Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza," Witkoff said in a post on X, accompanied by a photo of himself wearing a protective vest and meeting staff at a distribution center.

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UN says 1,373 killed while waiting for aid in Gaza since late May

The U.N. human rights office said Friday that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for aid in the shortage-stricken Gaza Strip since late May, most of them by the Israeli military.

"In total, since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of (U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," the U.N. agency's office for the Palestinian territories said in a statement.

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Four killed in Thursday's Israeli strikes on south, east Lebanon

A series of Israeli air strikes killed four people in south and east Lebanon, the health ministry said Friday, offering a toll for attacks that took place the day before.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had targeted Hezbollah "infrastructure that was used for producing and storing strategic weapons", including what the country's defense minister described as the group's "biggest precision missile manufacturing site".

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Sweden calls on EU to suspend trade pact with Israel

Sweden on Thursday called on the EU to suspend the trade section of its association agreement with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza.

"The situation in Gaza is absolutely appalling, and Israel is failing to fulfil its most basic obligations and agreements on emergency aid. Sweden therefore demands that the EU freeze the trade section of the association agreement as soon as possible," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post to X, calling on the Israeli government to allow "unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza."

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Canada's support for Palestinian state makes trade deal 'very hard'

Canada's support for Palestinian statehood makes a trade deal with Ottawa "very hard", U.S. President Donald Trump said early Thursday.

"Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Japan lifts tsunami advisory after Russia quake

Japan's weather office on Thursday lifted a tsunami advisory imposed a day earlier after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded, off Russia's Far East.

"There is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force," the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on its website.

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Aoun calls on Hezbollah to 'bet on state', vows no leniency on arms

President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that Lebanon is determined to disarm Hezbollah, a step it has come under heavy U.S. pressure to take, with the Iran-backed group insisting that doing so would serve Israeli goals.

Hezbollah and Israel recently fought an all-out war that left the militant group badly weakened, though it retains part of its arsenal.

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Gaza famine warning as Israel resists ceasefire calls

Gaza is slipping into famine, U.N. agencies warned on Tuesday, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the Palestinian death toll in the nearly 22-month war had topped 60,000.

The World Food Program, UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization warned that time was running out and that Gaza was "on the brink of a full-scale famine."

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