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UN experts on Thursday decried Israel's raid on an embattled hospital in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the "blatant assault" on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Reiterating charges that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza - something the Israeli government strongly denies - two independent United Nations rights experts said they were "horrified" by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza's last functioning major hospital.

"For well over a year into the genocide, Israel's blatant assault on the right to health in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory is plumbing new depths of impunity," the experts said in a statement.

"We are horrified and concerned by reports from northern Gaza."

Israel bombed the Iqlim al-Tuffah region in southern Lebanon Thursday night, the first attack in the area since the ceasefire came into effect on November 27.

It was not immediately clear what the airstrike targeted.

Israel has committed hundreds of violations, claiming that it was dismantling all Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon to make sure the group cannot rebuild.

إسرائيلية تستهدف المنطقة الواقعة بين و

— Al Modon - المدن (@almodononline)

Iran held rallies in its major cities Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in neighbouring Iraq.

Demonstrators in Tehran chanted "Down with America" and "Down with Israel" as they held up photographs of the slain general.

Attending the rally at the capital's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque, President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to "neutralise the enemy's sinister schemes to create discord among Muslims."

Commemorations were also held in other cities, including Soleimani's hometown Kerman, state television images showed.

مراسم پنجمین سالگرد شهادت حاج در

— ISNAMEDIA (@ISNAMEDIA)

Germany's foreign ministry denounced the Palestinian Authority's suspension of Qatar-based television network Al Jazeera's broadcast in a statement on Thursday.

"The Palestinian Authority's ban on Al Jazeera's work in the West Bank is deeply worrying," it said in a post on X.

"Press freedom is a precious asset. Free reporting must also be guaranteed in conflict situations."

The move has been condemned by press watchdogs and the UN human rights office. Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel.

Qatar Airways announced on Thursday it will resume flights to the Syrian capital Damascus within days, starting with three weekly flights.

The Qatari national carrier "is pleased to announce the resumption of three weekly flights to Damascus, Syria, from 7 January 2025," it said in a statement, describing it as a "significant step in reconnecting the region".

The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that dozens of its troops were flown into Syria in September to destroy an underground missile factory funded by Iran.

The military, which rarely comments on its activities inside Syria, said in a statement that the September 8 raid involved more than 100 Israeli commando soldiers who dismantled the facility in the Masyaf area near the Mediterranean coast. A war monitor reported 27 dead at the time.

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said Thursday he discussed with visiting Syrian officials the latest developments and ways to support the transitional political process in Syria.

"Met with the New Syrian Administration's Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, and Intelligence Chief. We discussed developments in Syria and explored ways to support the transitional political process in achieving the Syrian people's aspirations for security, stability, and unity," Salman wrote on X.

It was the first foreign visit for Syria's interim authorities since the collapse of Assad's regime last month.

Met with the New Syrian Administration's Foreign Minister, Defense Minister, and Intelligence Chief. We discussed developments in Syria and explored ways to support the transitional political process in achieving the Syrian people's aspirations for security, stability, and unity.

— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud)

The new Syrian administration should take over the Islamic State group's camps and prisons and that Ankara is ready to support the process, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday.

Those camps are run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, currently backing Turkish-backed forces in Syria.

Speaking following his meeting with his Belgian counterpart, Fidan also said imprisoned IS militants in Syria should be taken by countries of their nationality.

Turkey will support and protect minorities in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday.

At least six Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza City, according to reports from Al Jazeera English.

Two individuals lost their lives in an Israeli attack targeting a group of people on Kashko Street in the Shujayia neighbourhood, located east of Gaza City.

Additionally, four more were killed in Israeli bombardment at al-Barbari station on al-Jalaa Street, as Israeli forces intensified their assaults on the city.

The United Nations on Thursday urged the Palestinian Authority to "reverse course" after it suspended broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera and levelled allegations of incitement.

"We are deeply concerned by Palestinian Authority's suspension of Al Jazeera operations and reporters in the West Bank amid troubling trend of suppressing freedom of opinion and expression" in the Palestinian territories, the UN human rights office said on X, adding: "We urge PA to reverse course and respect its international law obligations."

An Israeli airstrike Thursday targeted the former Syrian army’s 90th Brigade in Sa’sa, a town in the Rif Dimashq (Damascus countryside) governorate, Al Arabiya TV reported.

Syria's education minister on Thursday sought to minimise curriculum changes announced this week by the new Islamist-led authorities, after activists denounced them as "extremist" and potentially harmful to religious minorities.

The amendments were announced Wednesday on the Facebook page of the interim leadership's education ministry, a little under a month since forces led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Education Minister Nazir al-Qadri, in a statement shared on Telegram on Thursday, said the changes were only meant to scrap "glorifying" references to the deposed president and correct misinterpretations of the Quran, Islam's holy book.

"The curricula in all Syrian schools will remain as is until specialised committees are formed to review and audit" them, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine is preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria.

"We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations," Zelenskiy said after hearing the report from Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha's visit to Syria on Monday.

At least six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza's Interior Ministry headquarters in the territory's southern part of Khan Younis, according to medics.

Israeli forces reportedly carried out another incursion in a south Lebanon border area on Thursday.

Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV said eight Merkava tanks and other vehicles entered the village of Beit Leef via Ramiya, an area which witnessed weeks of intense battles during the war. LBCI shared exclusive footage, saying this was the first time the Israeli army entered Beit Leef since the ceasefire came into effect on 27 November.

كاميرا الـLBCI ترصد توغل لآليات إسرائيلية في بيت ليف لأول مرة في القطاع الغربي

— LBCI Lebanon News (@LBCI_NEWS)

Separately, the Lebanese army was preparing to after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.

In line with the ceasefire deal, Israel must withdraw from southern Lebanon by the end of January and Hezbollah must also pull out its fighters, while the Lebanese army, accompanied by UN peacekeepers, deploy heavily in the region.

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 45,581 Palestinians and wounded 108,438 since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry added that 28 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.

An Israeli hostage held by Gaza's Islamic Jihad militant group has tried to take his own life, the spokesperson for the movement's armed wing said in a video posted on Telegram on Thursday.

One of the group's medical teams intervened and prevented him from dying, the Al Quds Brigades spokesperson added, without going into any more detail on the hostage's identity or current condition.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said the hostage had tried to take his own life three days ago due to his psychological state, without going into more details.

Abu Hamza accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of setting new conditions that had led to "the failure and delay" of negotiations for the hostage's release.

The man had been scheduled to be released with other hostages under the conditions of the first stage of an exchange deal with Israel, Abu Hamza said. He did not specify when the man had been scheduled to be released or under which deal.

Syria's top diplomat said he hoped to open a "new, bright page" with Saudi Arabia upon arriving in the kingdom Wednesday, the first foreign visit for Syria's new rulers, who seized power last month.

"I have just arrived in the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accompanied by the Minister of Defence Murhaf Abu Qasra and the Head of the General Intelligence Service Anas Khattab," Assaad al-Shibani said in a statement on X.

"Through this first visit in the history of Free Syria, we aspire to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries," he added.

A statement shared by Syria's Foreign ministry said Saudi Arabia's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji had received the delegation at the international airport in Riyadh.

معالي نائب وزير خارجية المملكة العربية المهندس وليد بن عبد الكريم الخريجي يستقبل معالي وزير الخارجية السيد أسعد الشيباني ومعالي وزير الدفاع السيد مرهف أبو قصرة ورئيس جهاز الاستخبارات السيد أنس خطاب في مطار الملك خالد الدولي في العاصمة .

— وزارة الخارجية والمغتربين السورية (@syrianmofaex)

Syrian security forces are conducting a security sweep in the city of Homs, state media reported on Thursday.

"The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Military Operations Department, begins a wide-scale combing operation in the neighbourhoods of Homs city," state news agency SANA said quoting a security official.

The statement said the targets were "war criminals and those involved in crimes who refused to hand over their weapons and go to the settlement centres" but also "fugitives from justice, in addition to hidden ammunition and weapons".

"The Ministry of Interior calls on the residents of the neighbourhoods of Wadi al-Dhahab, Akrama not to go out to the streets, remain home, and fully cooperate with our forces," the statement said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, told AFP the two districts are majority-Alawi - the community from which ousted president Bashar al-Assad hails.

"The ongoing campaign aims to search for former Shabiha and those who organised or participated in the Alawi demonstrations last week, which the administration considered as incitement against" its authority, he said.

The Palestinian Authority has ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera across the Palestinian territories, accusing the network of incitement, official media reported.

Al Jazeera is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

An Al Jazeera employee contacted by AFP confirmed that the network's office in Ramallah had received a suspension order on Wednesday.

The network condemned the decision in a statement, saying it "aligns with Israeli occupation practices targeting its media teams".

It accused the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, of "attempting to deter Al Jazeera from covering escalating events in the occupied Palestinian territories" including in Jenin and its refugee camp.