live Rubio tells allies U.S. will hold off new Iran strikes
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time bein...
Israeli air strikes in Gaza and Lebanon have raised fresh concerns about the durability of ceasefire agreements, after deadly attacks were reported in both territories.
In the southern Gaza Strip, at least two Palestinians were killed and four others injured when an Israeli strike hit the city of Khan Younis on Monday, 5 January, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, the area’s main medical facility.
Hospital staff said those killed were a young girl and her uncle. The strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people.
The area targeted was one from which Israeli forces had previously withdrawn under a ceasefire that came into effect on 10 October.
Since then, Gaza’s health authorities say more than 420 Palestinians have been killed in related violence, while Palestinian militants have killed several Israeli soldiers.
Israel also carried out air and drone strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it was targeting infrastructure linked to Hezbollah and Hamas.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for four villages (Hammara, Ain el-Tineh, Kfar Hatta and Aanan) citing militant activity in the area.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that a drone strike on a vehicle in the southern village of Braikeh wounded two people.
Israeli authorities said the vehicle was carrying two Hezbollah members, accusing the group of repeated threats and violations of the truce.
Additional strikes were reported in southern and eastern Lebanon, including near the coastal city of Sidon. Lebanese officials said one civilian was injured. Israel said the sites hit were used by Hezbollah and Hamas.
There was no immediate response from Hamas or Hezbollah.
The latest attacks come amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect in late 2024, following more than a year of cross-border fighting.
Monitoring groups and Lebanese officials say the truce has been marked by repeated violations, with hundreds of Israeli air strikes reported in southern Lebanon since the agreement began.
Despite ceasefire arrangements, regional tensions remain high, fuelling fears that renewed violence could further destabilise the area.
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv wants peace but will not surrender to Russia, as foreign leaders joined Independence Day events marking 35 years since Ukraine’s independence.
Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, following 13 transits a day earlier, as disruptions continue to restrict traffic through the key energy chokepoint.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
The UN has condemned the entry of Israeli forces into a UNRWA training centre in East Jerusalem, warning the move could disrupt vital education for young Palestinians.
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan are among 11 countries set to benefit from a $400 million Asian Development Bank investment aimed at cutting freight times and costs along key Central Asian transport corridors.
At least 14 infants were killed when a fire broke out at a state-run hospital in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, the prime minister said, with local media saying it was triggered by a fault in the air conditioning system.
The YPG has announced that it is dissolving its so-called autonomous administration and ending its separate military and civilian structures, marking a significant step towards bringing the group under the authority of the Syrian state.
Government officials, investors and technology leaders have gathered in Tashkent for the inaugural Silk Road Finance and Technology Forum, a new platform aimed at exploring how financial technology can drive economic growth across Central Asia.
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