Middle East
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Palestinians confront landscape of destruction in Gaza's 'ghost towns'

Palestinians in Gaza are confronting an apocalyptic landscape of devastation after a ceasefire paused more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Across the tiny coastal enclave, where built-up refugee camps are interspersed between cities, drone footage captured by The Associated Press shows mounds of rubble stretching as far as the eye can see — remnants of the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Hamas in their blood-ridden history.

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Israel opposition head calls on government to resign after military chief quits

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to resign on Monday after the country's military chief quit over the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

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Israeli army chief resigns over October 7 failure

The head of Israel's military, Major General Herzi Halevi, resigned on Tuesday over his responsibility for the army's "failure" during the Palestinian militant group Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023.

In his resignation letter, released by the army, Halevi said he was leaving "due to my acknowledgement of responsibility for the (military's) failure on October 7."

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6 dead, 35 hurt as Israel launches major military operation in West Bank

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had launched an operation in the occupied West Bank's Jenin that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said aimed to "eradicate terrorism" in the area.

The Palestinian health ministry, based in Ramallah, said the operation had killed six people, just days after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the Gaza Strip.

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Syria's new leader says Trump to 'bring peace' to Mideast

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on his Monday inauguration, saying the American would "bring peace to the Middle East".

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Israel-Hamas truce holding though Trump doubts it will last

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered a third day Tuesday, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he doubted the fragile deal would hold.

Desperately needed humanitarian aid has begun to flow into war-battered Gaza after Israel and Hamas conducted the first exchange of hostages for prisoners agreed under the terms of the ceasefire.

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Palestinian Authority accuses Trump of inciting Israeli settler violence

The Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's lifting of sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank would incite violence against Palestinians.

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Israeli soldier killed in the West Bank

The Israeli military says a soldier was killed and another was seriously wounded in the West Bank.

The military declined to provide further details. Israeli media reported Monday that the soldiers’ vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in the northern West Bank overnight.

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Syrians hope war-hit Damascus train station can be restored

A train station in Damascus was once the pride of the Syrian capital, an essential link between Europe and the Arabian Peninsula during the Ottoman Empire and then a national transit hub. But more than a decade of war left it a wasteland of bullet-scarred walls and twisted steel.

The Qadam station's remaining staff say they still have an attachment to the railway and hope that it, like the country, can be revived after the swift and stunning downfall of leader Bashar Assad last month.

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Turkey reopens consulate in Aleppo

Turkey reopened its consulate in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, raising its flag at the building for the first time in 12 years, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The opening on Monday comes weeks after the Turkish Embassy resumed its operations in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Dec. 14.

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