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UN draft resolution demands halt to Israeli settlements

A Palestinian-backed U.N. resolution that could be put to a vote in the Security Council early next week would demand an immediate halt to all Israeli settlement activities, condemn Israeli attempts to annex settlements and outposts, "and call for their immediate reversal."

In Washington, the State Department said it believed the resolution as drafted was "unhelpful," but declined to say if it would veto the document or try to water it down to avoid a contentious vote.

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Shiite pilgrims march through Baghdad surrounded by security

Amid chilly temperatures and heavy security, thousands of black-clad pilgrims from across Iraq marched Thursday in the annual procession in marking the death of a Shiite saint.

Pilgrims traditionally travel on foot to the shrine and burial site of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, the seventh of 12 Shiite imams who died in a Baghdad prison in the eighth century. The procession leads to the site in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kadimiyah. Participants wear black, with some carrying out self-flagellation to publicly express their mourning.

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UN official warns of rising earthquake death toll in Syria

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Syria said Thursday that the country's death toll from last week's deadly earthquake is likely to rise further as teams scramble to remove rubble in hard-hit areas.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Muhannad Hadi defended the U.N.'s response to the disaster, which many in Syria have criticized as slow and inadequate.

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Red Cross chief warns of health crisis in quake-hit Syria

Syria could face dangerous outbreaks of disease in the wake of last week's devastating earthquake if hundreds of thousands of displaced people do not get permanent housing soon, the Red Cross' global chief said Thursday, as Syrians struggle to receive humanitarian aid amid the mounting crisis.

Jagan Chapagain, who is Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said families staying in makeshift shelters without adequate heating urgently need permanent housing.

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Israel demolishes West Bank home of Palestinian attacker

Israeli forces demolished the home on Thursday of a Palestinian behind a deadly shooting in the occupied West Bank, as tensions and unrest surge in the region.

The military said the demolition was carried out after an Israeli court rejected appeals to spare the residence. The home, in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, was demolished in a controlled explosion. A flash and then grey tufts of smoke were seen emerging from the apartment in the early morning hours.

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Israeli FM visits Kyiv as pressure mounts over military aid

Israel's foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Thursday, the first public visit to Ukraine's capital by a senior Israeli official since Russia's invasion last year.

Eli Cohen's visit came just before the first anniversary of Russian's invasion of Ukraine, and as western nations seek to increase aid to the country.

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US military downs Iranian-made drone in Syria

U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

The incident comes more than a week after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria, followed by a significant de-escalation of violence across the war-torn country.

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Qatar donates World Cup mobile homes to earthquake survivors

Qatar plans to send 10,000 cabins and caravans from last year's World Cup to provide shelter for survivors of the Turkish earthquakes, officials said.

The gas-rich Gulf nation says it had always planned to donate the mobile homes. They were needed to help house some of the 1.4 million fans who descended on the small country during soccer's biggest tournament.

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Gunmen storm hospital of newborn saved from quake in Syria

Gunmen have stormed a Syrian hospital that is caring for a baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family's earthquake-shattered home, and the attackers beat the facility's director, a hospital official said.

The official denied reports on social media that the Monday night attack was an attempt to kidnap the infant named Aya — Arabic for "a sign from God." She has been at the hospital since hours after the Feb. 6. earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. Her parents and four siblings died in the disaster.

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Syria's Assad could reap rewards from aid crossing deal

A convoy of 11 trucks from a United Nations agency crossed into northern Syria from Turkey on Tuesday, just hours after the U.N. and Syrian government reached an agreement to temporarily authorize two new border crossings into the rebel enclave, devastated by the region's deadly earthquake.

Syrian officials in Damascus said the decision, seven days after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed thousands, shows their commitment to supporting victims on both sides of the front line.

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