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Macron tells Netanyahu ordeal of Gaza civilians 'must end'

France's President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he told Israel's leader in a phone call that the suffering of Gazan civilians "must end" and that only a ceasefire in Gaza could free remaining Israeli hostages.

"The ordeal the civilian populations of Gaza are going through must end," Macron posted on X after the talk with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for "the opening of all humanitarian aid crossings" into the besieged Palestinian territory.

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Syria president visiting Qatar for first time since Assad fall

Syria's new president was travelling to Qatar on Tuesday for his first official visit to the Gulf state, a key backer of the new administration after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's ouster, a minister said.

"Today we are accompanying President Ahmed al-Sharaa on his first presidential visit to the country that has stood by Syrians from day one and has never abandoned them," Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in a statement on social network X. He accompanied the post with a photo of the Syrian and Qatari flags.

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Hamas to likely respond to Israel truce proposal within 48 hours

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday that the Palestinian Islamist movement will "most likely" respond to an Israeli ceasefire proposal it received through mediators within 48 hours.

"Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations... within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position", the official told AFP.

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Syria's Alawites still face targeted attacks a month after brutal counteroffensive

A month after a wave of revenge attacks left hundreds of Alawite civilians dead, members of the Syrian religious minority are still living in fear, with dozens killed in smaller attacks since the start of April.

The Muslim minority group was seen as a privileged minority under the rule of the Alawite Assad family, but since Bashar Assad 's government fell late last year members have feared revenge from the country's Sunni majority.

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Israeli airstrike hits hospital gate in Gaza, killing medic and wounding 9 other people

An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people, a spokesman for the hospital said.

The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. The wounded were all patients and medics, and two of the patients were in critical condition after the strike, said Saber Mohammed, a hospital spokesman.

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Macron, Abbas agree on 'urgent' need for Gaza truce

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an "urgent" ceasefire in Gaza during a phone conversation on Monday, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

"They emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire, the acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery, the rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land and the Palestinian Authority assuming responsibility in the Gaza Strip," the agency reported.

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EU announces 1.6 bn euros in new aid for Palestinians

The European Union on Monday announced a new three-year financial support package for the Palestinians worth up to 1.6 billion euros.

"We are stepping up our support to the Palestinian people. €1.6 billion until 2027 will help stabilize the West Bank and Gaza," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.

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Hamas says will free hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed

A senior Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a "serious prisoner swap" and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.

Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar — two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire in the besieged territory.

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France interior minister on visit to Morocco for security talks

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was on a visit to Rabat on Monday, where he is expected to discuss security cooperation with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit.

Talks will primarily focus on migration cooperation, the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking, according to the French interior ministry.

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Suspected US airstrikes kill at least 6 people in Yemen

Suspected U.S. airstrikes around Yemen's rebel-held capital killed at least six people and wounded 26 overnight, the Houthis said Monday as they also claimed shooting down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone.

Since its start nearly a month ago, the intense campaign of U.S. airstrikes under President Donald Trump targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters — related to the Israel-Hamas war — has killed over 120 people, according to casualty figures released Monday by the Houthis' Health Ministry.

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