Syrian insurgents entered the central city of Hama Thursday after days of intense clashes with government forces as they push forward with their week-long offensive that brought large parts of Syria under their control.

The Syrian army said it has withdrawn from Hama after insurgents broke through its defenses marking another setback for President Bashar Assad, days after losing the country's largest city. The Syrian army said it redeployed from Hama and took positions outside the city to protect the lives of civilians.

The OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries will decide Thursday whether to put off plans to pump more crude amid sluggish demand and competing production from non-allied countries -- factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year.

Key beneficiaries of that would be U.S. motorists, who have seen gasoline prices fall to their lowest in 2 1/2 years to near $3 a gallon.

Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

The human rights group released a report Thursday in the Middle East that said such actions could not be justified by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, which ignited the war, or the presence of militants in civilian areas. Amnesty said the United States and other allies of Israel could be complicit in genocide, and called on them to halt arms shipments.

A Palestinian health official said Wednesday that at least 21 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a camp housing displaced people in Gaza. Atif Al-Hout, the director of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, said at least 28 people were wounded in the strike.

The Israeli military said its aircraft struck senior Hamas militants “involved in terrorist activities” in the area. The military said that the strike had set off secondary explosions, indicating explosives present in the area were set off. It was not possible to independently confirm the Israeli claims, and the strike could also have ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials in the camp.

Israel’s army said it had struck a launcher in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, one week after the start of a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"A launcher that was identified in Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon, violating the agreements between Israel and Lebanon and posing a threat to the State of Israel, was struck by the (Israeli Air Force)," the military said in a statement, adding it had also "dismantled weapons" in three locations of southern Lebanon.

Federal authorities on Tuesday urged telecommunication companies to boost network security following a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.

The guidance issued by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. Officials who briefed reporters on the recommendations said the U.S. still doesn't know the true scope of China's attack or the extent to which Chinese hackers still have access to U.S. networks.

France's far-right and left-wing forces are expected to join together Wednesday to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government in a historic no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes. If the motion succeeds, it would mark the first time a French government has been toppled this way in more than 60 years.

President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027 despite growing opposition calls for his departure amid the turmoil. However, Macron will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time this year, further reshaping France's political balance after his party's losses in July's legislative elections.

A U.S.-led committee that is supposed to monitor the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel will hold its first meeting Friday, an informed source told local al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The committee also includes France, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), Lebanon, and Israel.

Jewish settlers mounted a string of attacks on Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank overnight, burning homes and clashing with Israeli troops.

There were no immediate reports of any Palestinian casualties.

South Korea's opposition parties Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over the shocking and short-lived martial law that drew heavily armed troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers climbed walls to reenter the building and unanimously voted to lift his order.

Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament and at least six justices of the nine-member Constitutional Court would have to support it to remove him from office. The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.