°®Âþµº

Our live coverage concludes for today. Join us again tomorrow at 08:00 GMT for the latest developments from the ground in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sat down in Damascus on Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state media said, in the Syrian leader's first meeting since a shock rebel offensive on Aleppo.

Araghchi and Assad "discussed bilateral relations and regional developments" during the meeting, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported, without providing further details.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos would serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

He made the announcement on Truth Social. Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, met repeatedly with Arab American and Muslim leaders during the election campaign.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog  told the family of an Israeli-American captive in Gaza that deal negotiations for a hostage release were "taking place behind the scenes", according to The Times of Israel.

"Now, with an agreement reached regarding the northern border with Lebanon, it is time to finalise a deal and bring the hostages home" from war-hit Gaza, he said the president, according to his office.

"We are negotiating with a bitter and cruel enemy whose sole purpose in releasing this video was to try to break our spirit. On the contrary — I believe this video has strengthened us."

“Now is the opportunity to bring about a meaningful change that will lead to a deal to free the hostages."

The Palestinian health ministry said the Israeli army killed two people in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, after Israel's military announced a strike in the area of Jenin.

The ministry said in a statement two people were killed "due to the occupation's aggression on the village of Siir in the Jenin district", referring to Israel.

Hours earlier, Israel's military said in a statement that "an IAF (Israeli air force) aircraft conducted a strike on terrorists in the area of Jenin".

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces were "preventing our teams from reaching the bombing site near the village of Siir".

Israeli soldiers entered the village at around 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday and had withdrawn by the afternoon, an AFP photographer said.

The White House is working on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza but is "not there yet," the US National Security Advisor told NBC on Sunday, with fighting in the conflict raging on as Arab leaders meet in Cairo to discuss the crisis.

"We are working actively to try to make it happen. We are engaged deeply with the key players in the region, and there is activity even today," said Jake Sullivan, according to a transcript released by the broadcaster.

"There will be further conversations and consultations, and our hope is that we can generate a ceasefire and hostage deal, but we're not there yet," he added.

Sullivan's comments came a day after Israel hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, days into a fragile ceasefire in its conflict with the Iran-backed group.

Addressing that conflict, Sullivan lauded the ceasefire deal and said the US was working with Lebanon's military to ensure it was implemented "effectively."

"We need to protect it and ensure that it is fully implemented," he told NBC.

Israel is closely watching developments in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

"We are constantly watching events in Syria. We are determined to defend the vital interests of Israel and to maintain the achievements of war," Netanyahu said, visiting new military recruits at a base in central Israel. Insurgents swept into the Syrian city of Aleppo, east of Idlib province, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years. 

A flare-up of fighting in Syria that has seen the government lose control of Aleppo poses a grave threat to regional and international security, the UN envoy for Syria said Sunday.

"I call for urgent and serious political engagement - among Syrian and international stakeholders -- to spare bloodshed and focus on a political solution in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254" agreed in 2015, Geir Pedersen said in a statement.

"The latest developments pose severe risks to civilians and have serious implications for regional and international peace and security."

The Syrian army, supported by Russian air power, had recaptured in 2016 rebel-held areas of Aleppo, a city dominated by its landmark citadel.

But since Wednesday, a rebel alliance has pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed Syrian government.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they fired a missile at central Israel on Sunday, as Israeli forces announced they had intercepted a "projectile".

The Iran-backed rebels "carried out a targeting operation against a vital target" in the Tel Aviv area using a "hypersonic missile", a Houthi statement said.

An Israeli armed forces statement said: "One projectile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to its crossing into Israeli territory."

The projectile was shot down after sirens had sounded in various areas of central Israel in the early morning, the Israeli statement said.

The Houthis said they launched a Palestine 2 missile, which they describe as a hypersonic ballistic missile that is manufactured in Yemen.

About 235,000 displaced children in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing risk of disease as days of heavy rains flood tents and turn camps into swamps, Save the Children said.

Restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on the entry of humanitarian supplies to help prepare communities for the rainy season have left 500,000 people – almost half of whom are children – in areas that are being flooded with dirty water and sewage.

Save the Children said that stocks of supplies that would help children and families soaking and freezing are stuck at the border as the aid organisation awaits approval from Israeli authorities.

A nutrition consultant with Save the Children who works in the flood-affected camps, said: "People’s situation is miserable. A dire situation in terms of health, mental health and immunity. A mother came in today and apologised for being late. Why? Because it was raining through the night and their tent was flooded. The family had to go outside, and she had to carry the children until the rain stopped. Then they swept the water outand went back inside."

“Some people had to flee because big ponds were formed due to rain. It’s a tragic situation," she added.

Kuwait's ruler on Sunday urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as he addressed a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council held after nearly 14 months of war in the Palestinian territory.

Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah called on the international community to implement "an immediate ceasefire, providing international protection for innocent civilians and ensuring the opening of safe corridors and the arrival of urgent humanitarian aid".

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday affirmed his country's support for Syria amid a major offensive by armed rebels and their Turkey-backed allies.

"Jordan stands by the brothers in Syria and its territorial integrity, sovereignty and stability," the king said in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Yemen's Houthis launched a military operation on a "vital target" in central Israel using a hypersonic missile, the group's military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a televised address on Sunday.

The group will continue its attacks until "Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip is halted and the siege is lifted", Sarea added

Pope Francis called on Lebanese politicians on Sunday to urgently elect a new president, to get the country's governing institutions functioning again.

"I address an urgent invitation to all Lebanese politicians to elect the president of the republic immediately," the pontiff said at Saint Peter's Square at the end of Sunday Angelus prayer.

Lebanon's institutions need to "start functioning normally again to undertake the necessary reforms and sustain the country's role as an example of peaceful cohabitation between different religions", Francis said.

Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri has called a presidential election for January 9 in a bid to end a two-year leadership vacuum.

Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022.

Neither of the two main blocs in parliament - the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents - have the majority required to elect a head of state and they have been unable to agree on a consensus candidate.

France has reported 52 alleged ceasefire violations by the Israeli army since Wednesday, and has accused Israel of circumventing the international committee responsible for ensuring compliance with the agreement, according to Israeli media, including Yedioth Ahronoth and i24News.

The health ministry in Gaza said Sunday that at least 44,429 people have been killed in more than 13 months of war.

The toll includes 47 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 105,250 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7, 2023.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Sunday that it received a report of an incident 80 nautical miles south of Yemen's port city of Aden, adding that authorities were investigating.

 Jordan said on Sunday that developments in Syria were a "cause of concern" and that it rejected any action that threatened its northern neighbour's security and stability.

In remarks on state television, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the kingdom backed Syria's "territorial integrity" and its sovereignty and called for increased diplomatic efforts to reach a political settlement that would end the conflict

The UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees is pausing the delivery of aid through the key Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza because of security concerns, its chief said Sunday.

"We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom... The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months. On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs. Yesterday, we tried to bring in a few food trucks on the same route. They were all taken," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X.

Two Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip have died in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian prisoner advocacy organisations, as cited by the Palestinian Wafa agency.

The prisoners were identified as 35-year-old Mohammad Abdul-Rahman Idris and Moath Khaled Rayan, 31 years old,

In a joint statement, the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), and the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights stated that they were informed of Idris's death on November 29, 2024, through the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, confirming he had passed away in the Ofer prison.

They were also informed of Rayan's death after inquiries made by the Israeli military about his condition revealed he died on November 2, 2024, though the circumstances of his death have not been disclosed.

According to the statement, Idris had no known health issues prior to his detention on August 25, 2024. Meanwhile, Rayan, who had been paralysed before his detention on October 21, 2024, suffered severe health conditions in detention.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels who are fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have blocked an attempt by Kurdish groups to establish a corridor connecting Tel Rifaat to northeastern Syria, Turkish security sources said on Sunday.

Turkey refers to this group of rebels as Syrian National Army.

The corridor would have linked the Kurdish-held northeastern regions to Tel Rifaat, a strategic area northwest of Aleppo.

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said Sunday he will leave Tehran for Damascus to deliver a message of support for Syria's government and armed forces, state media said, after a lighting advance by rebels.

"I am going to Damascus to convey the message of the Islamic Republic to the Syrian government," Araghchi said, emphasising Tehran will "firmly support the Syrian government and army," the IRNA state news agency reported.

Two armed pro-Iranian Iraqi factions are reportedly preparing to enter Syria, °®Âþµº's Arabic-language site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said.

Kazem al-Fartousi, spokesman for the Sayyed al-Shuhada Brigades militia told Al-Araby that "what is happening in Syria is being pushed by the US and Israel, and it is a second page to besiege Hezbollah in Lebanon, so we will not remain spectators."

"Iraq will be the first country to be harmed by what is currently happening in Syria, and we do not rule out participating in the fighting in Syria again," he added.

"We fought in Syria for many years before, not in defense of the regime, but to defend the line of the axis of resistance and the main supply line that connects Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and Syria."

Israeli military strikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, medics said, as Israeli forces kept up bombardments across the enclave and blew up houses on its northern edge.

In the central Gaza camp of Nuseirat, an Israeli airstrike killed six people in a house, and another attack killed three in a home in Gaza City, medics said.

Two children were killed when a missile hit a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while four other people were killed in an airstrike in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics told Reuters.

Residents said the military blew up clusters of houses in the northern Gaza areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, where Israeli forces have operated since October this year.

Palestinians say Israel's operations on the northern edge of the enclave are part of a plan to clear people out through forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone - an allegation the army denies.