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China's FM tells Israeli counterpart 'humanitarian disasters' in Gaza must end

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday told his Israeli counterpart that "humanitarian disasters" in Gaza should end, state media said.

"Humanitarian disasters in Gaza should not continue and...countering violence with violence cannot truly address the legitimate concerns of all parties," Wang told Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz during a phone call, the official Xinhua news agency said.

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Iran slams US obstruction of Security Council on Gaza, Lebanon

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi slammed as "a disaster" on Monday what he called U.S. obstruction of the United Nations Security Council in relation to the wars in Lebanon and Gaza.

In a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Araghchi welcomed efforts by China, a permanent member of the council, to "stop the warmongering and the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel)" in Gaza and Lebanon and described the "inaction of the U.N. Security Council due to the obstruction of the United States as a disaster".

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Strike and inferno in Gaza hospital courtyard

Even as attention has shifted to Lebanon, Israel is still striking the Gaza Strip more than a year after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel triggered the war there and set off escalations across the region.

Early on Monday, an Israeli airstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Gaza Strip killed at least four people and triggered a fire that swept through a tent camp for people displaced by the war, leaving more than two dozen with severe burns.

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UK govt sanctions Iranian military chiefs after Israel attack

The UK government on Monday announced sanctions on top Iranian military figures after the Islamic republic's October 1 missile attack on arch-foe Israel.

Among those hit with an assets freeze and travel ban are army commander-in-chief Abdolrahim Mousavi and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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2 Israelis charged with planning assassination for Iran

Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency said Monday police had charged two Israelis on accusations that they planned to carry out an assassination at the behest of Iran.

The agency said Vladislav Victorson, 30, was approached online by a person called Mari Hossi and was instructed to carry out missions that ranged from petty vandalism to torching cars, and paid more than $5,000.

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Iran in diplomatic push to seek halt in violence

Iran held a series of diplomatic talks on Sunday, with President Masoud Pezeshkian seeking support from France's Emmanuel Macron for a ceasefire in Lebanon, and the foreign minister visiting Iraq while on a regional tour.

According to a statement on Iran's presidential website, Pezeshkian and Macron discussed ways to secure a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel as the Iranian leader condemned Israel's "crimes" in Gaza and Lebanon.

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US to send troops and complex defense system to Israel despite Iranian threat

The United States will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery and troops to Israel. The Pentagon made the announcement Sunday, shortly after Iran warned Washington to keep American military forces out of Israel.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of the THAAD battery at the direction of President Joe Biden.

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Macron says ending arms exports for Gaza, Lebanon only way to stop fighting

French President Emmanuel Macron said that "stopping the export of weapons" used in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to end fighting there, and also condemned "deliberate" targeting of U.N. peacekeepers.

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Israeli army renews orders for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza

The Israeli military on Saturday renewed its orders for Palestinian in the northern Gaza Strip to leave their homes and shelters as troops press on a weeklong offensive against militants.

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US Vice President Harris: We need these wars to end

Asked about the latest airstrikes in Lebanon, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters in Las Vegas: “We have got to reach a cease-fire, both as it relates to what’s happening in Lebanon, and, of course, Gaza."

She added: "We are working around the clock in that regard, but we need these wars to end and we’ve got to definitely de-escalate what is happening in the region, and we’re working on that.”

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