Middle East latest: Deadly Israeli strikes hit north and central Gaza

Israeli airstrikes in northern and central Gaza killed at least 33 people overnight, Palestinian medical officials said Wednesday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to return to the Middle East this week for his first diplomatic visit since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Hospital records show one Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed 19 people including a family of eight — four children, their parents and two grandparents.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas militant in the vicinity of the hospital, part of a blistering offensive in Gaza's isolated and heavily destroyed north.

"We have received distress calls from neighbors and trapped people, but we're not able to leave the hospital because of the continued risk," said the director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The strikes in Gaza came a day after Israel carried out a wave of hundreds of airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people, including children and older adults. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up more than half the dead but do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their count. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

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Here's the latest:

Palestinians urge UN General Assembly to vote for an immediate Gaza ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS – The Palestinians are urging United Nations member countries to vote in favor of resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and supporting the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, which Israel has moved to ban in Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian mission to the United Nations issued the urgent appeal to the 193 U.N. member nations ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s votes on the resolutions in the General Assembly, whose members have has been listening to two days of speeches overwhelmingly supporting the measures.

Israel and close ally the United States have spoken against the resolutions.

The Palestinians and their supporters went to the General Assembly after the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution last month demanding an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza. It was supported by the 14 other Security Councilmember nations, but the U.S. objected because the resolution did not include a link to an immediate release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The General Assembly resolution being voted on Wednesday mirrors the Security Council language: It “demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire to be respected by all parties, and further reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

Unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly. But while council resolutions are legally binding, assembly resolutions are not, though they do reflect world opinion.

The second resolution being voted on supports the mandate of the U.N. agency caring for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA which was established by the General Assembly in 1949.

It “deplores” legislation adopted by Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Oct. 28 banning UNRWA’s activities in the Palestinian territories, which takes effect in 90 days.

It calls on the Israeli government “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip.”

Israel lifts restrictions on outdoor activities in the northern Golan Heights

JERUSALEM — Israel has lifted restrictions on public gatherings and outdoor activities in areas near the Lebanese border in the northern Golan Heights, two weeks after a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The army’s Home Front Command said it was changing its public safety guidelines to “full activity” from “partial activity.”

Israel had tightened restrictions on Nov. 25, reflecting concerns that fighting could intensify ahead of any possible cease-fire between Israel and Lebanese militants. The truce went into effect on Nov. 27.

In recent days, Israeli tanks and troops have advanced out of Israeli-held territory in the Golan Heights and pushed into a buffer zone inside Syria — a move Israel said it took to prevent attacks on its citizens.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States.

Palestinian factions in Syria form a united delegation to meet with country's new rebel rulers

BEIRUT - Syria-based Palestinian factions have formed a unified delegation to meet with the country's new rebel-led authorities.

The factions said in a statement after their meeting Wednesday at the Palestinian Embassy that they stand by the side of the Syrian people.

The factions condemned Israel’s airstrikes on Syria over the past few days that have destroyed much of the assets of the Syrian army.

The factions decided to form a joint committee to run the affairs of Palestinians in Syria as well as to be in contact with the new insurgent-led transitional government, following the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in Syria, many of them refugees, and the factions that have been based in Damascus were close to Assad’s government. Hamas was based in Syria until it left in 2012 a year after the county's civil war began.

UN chief pledges support for Syria's transition, says Assad’s fall brings hope to Mideast

PRETORIA, South Africa — The United Nations chief says the fall of Syria’s authoritarian government has brought hope to the troubled Middle East, and pledged the global body’s support to the country's new leaders to ensure a smooth transition.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the U.N. wants to see “an inclusive political process in which the rights of all minorities will be fully respected, and paving the way towards a united sovereign Syria, with its territorial integrity fully re-established.”

The jihadi-led Syrian rebels took control of the capital Damascus after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving many areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. A Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed force also controls large parts of northeastern Syria.

Guterres said he fully trusts the people of Syria to be able “to choose their own destiny”.

“I think it is our duty to do everything to support the different Syrian leaders in order to make sure that they come together and are able to guarantee a smooth transition, an inclusive transition in which all Syrians can feel that they belong," Guterres said. “The alternative does not make any sense.”

Guterres is in South Africa to discuss the country’s role as it takes over the G20 presidency, among other issues.

Israeli airstrike kills four people in central Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike in central Gaza Strip killed four people and injured 16 others Wednesday, health officials said.

Those killed and injured were taken to Awda Hospital after the strike hit a house in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the press center at the hospital.

Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October last year, at least 44,805 people have been killed and 106,257 others have been injured, according to the latest update by the Gaza Health ministry.

Top US military commander in the Mideast visits Lebanon for talks with army chief

BEIRUT — The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East was in Lebanon on Wednesday meeting with the head of the Lebanese army.

In the wake of shocking overthrow of the government in neighboring Syria, the two military leaders discussed the security situation in Lebanon, a statement from the country's army said.

U.S. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, who leads U.S. Central Command, met with the head of the Lebanese army Gen. Joseph Aoun to discuss ongoing American support for the implementation of the U.S.-and French-brokered ceasefire agreement, which ended more than a year of war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel has said the truce deal gives it the right to use military force against perceived ceasefire violations. Israel has launched near-daily strikes, mostly in southern Lebanon, that have killed at least 28 people and wounded 25 others since the ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27. Still, the shaky truce appears to be holding.

Five people were killed Wednesday by at least three Israeli strikes in different towns in the southern municipality of Bint Jbeil, Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state news agency said.

On Tuesday, Kurilla was in eastern Syria visiting U.S. military bases and meeting with members of a Kurdish-led Syrian force that is backed by the U.S. He was assessing what CENTCOM described as efforts to counter a resurgence of the Islamic State group. He also visited Baghdad for talks with Iraqi officials on regional security and counter-IS operations.

Syrian rebels work to get the capital's airport up and running again

DAMASCUS — With the fall of Damascus, security forces of the deposed Bashar Assad government and staff withdrew from the Damascus International airport, grounding flights and stranding passengers. The airport has not been functional since.

Now, security members of the rebel alliance in control of Syria have taken control of the airport, hoping to restore security, a sense of confidence, and the legitimacy needed to restart flights out of the capital, and from one of the country’s three international airports.

“Damascus international airport is the heart of the city because it is the gateway for international delegations and missions,” Omar al-Shami, a security official with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the shock offensive that led to the fall of Assad, told The Associated Press, calling it "the passage for Syria to breathe.”

Al-Shami said security was restored at the international airport nearly 12 hours after the fall of Damascus. The factions entered the capital before dawn, and security members of the rebel alliance took charge before sunset on Sunday. He said he hoped the airport would be operational in less than a week.

On Wednesday, a handful of engineers were inspecting four planes that were on the tarmac. Cleaning staff were removing broken furniture, glass windows, and trash from ransacking by looters following the fall of Damascus. The attack, reportedly by mobs and looters from the neighboring areas, left parts of the airport halls destroyed, with smashed furniture and merchandise.

“There was a lot damage in the airport’s equipment and facilities in 90% of the sections,” Anis Fallouh, the head of the airport, told the AP.

Fallouh said the operations to clean up the airport aim to convince international airlines to resume their flights to Damascus. “Soon in the coming days, flights will resume when we reopen air traffic to Syria and inform countries that Damascus airport is operational. We may start with domestic or test flights to ensure that everything in the airport is operational and avoid any mistakes. Then we can resume international flights.”

Engineers were inspecting the four planes on the tarmac, from two Syrian airlines. Some administrative staff were visiting the airport as the new administrators of Damascus work to convince state officials to return to their posts.

“We are on the Airbus 320, the technical team. Because of the security vacuum that happened on Sunday, some ill-intentioned people tried to cause damage but thank God the plane is fine — the body, the engines and its systems. Some things are missing and we are trying to fix that,” said Bassam Radi, the engineer in charge of maintenance, said.

Germany says it's looking for ways to work with Syria's new rulers

BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday addressed Berlin's reservations but also willingness to work the Syrian militant group in control of Damascus, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.

“Nobody overlooks the origins of HTS in the al-Qaeda ideology. It is therefore clear that we will measure HTS by its actions,” Baerbock told reporters in Berlin. “Any cooperation presupposes that ethnic and religious minorities are protected, women’s rights are respected and acts of revenge are prevented.”

She said that “whether we like it or not, the HTS militia ... is one of the decisive actors for the future of Syria.”

“Together with our partners, we are therefore looking for an adequate way of dealing with HTS, with whom many have had no direct contact for good reasons,” she added.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, the insurgent leader also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has renounced longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicted himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.

Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills 1, state news agency says

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike near the southern Lebanese town of Bin Jbeil killed one person and wounded another, the state news agency reported.

National News Agency said Wednesday’s airstrike hit a home. It gave no further details and there was no immediate comment from Israeli military.

More than a dozen people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since a ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27, ending the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

Blinken is returning to the Middle East

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East this week on his 12th visit since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Assad's departure has sparked new fears of instability in the region now wracked by three conflicts despite a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

Blinken will travel to Jordan and Turkey on Thursday and Friday for talks expected to focus largely on Syria but also touch on long-elusive hopes for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the territory since October 2023.

The State Department said Blinken would meet Jordanian officials, including King Abdullah II, in the port of Aqaba on Thursday before flying to Ankara for meetings with Turkish officials Friday.

Other stops in the region are also possible, officials said.

Blinken “will reiterate the United States’ support for an inclusive, Syrian-led transition to an accountable and representative government,” department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Insurgents set fire to Hafez Assad's tomb, a war monitor says

BEIRUT — Insurgents have set on fire the tomb of Syria’s former President Hafez Assad in his hometown in the northwest, a war monitor and a local journalist said Wednesday.

Hafez Assad had ruled Syria for 30 years until his death in 2000, when his son, Bashar, succeeded him. Both ruled Syria with an iron fist and were blamed for crackdowns that left tens of thousands dead, mainly in the central city of Hama in 1982, and in much of the country since the civil war in 2011.

Bashar Assad was ousted over the weekend and fled to Russia where he was given political asylum.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian journalist Qusay Noor told The Associated Press that the tomb was set on fire Wednesday in the town of Qardaha in Latakia province.

UN appeals for $4 billion for humanitarian operations in Palestinian territories

JERUSALEM — The United Nations is asking donors for over $4 billion to fund humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, most of it earmarked for war-ravaged Gaza.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also called for the “lifting all impediments to the entry of aid” in its appeal issued Wednesday.

U.N. agencies say aid operations in Gaza are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames the U.N. for not distributing it within the territory.

The appeal for 2025 includes $3.6 billion for Gaza and about $450 million for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has destroyed vast areas of the besieged territory and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million. Many have been displaced multiple times and are now crammed into squalid tent camps with little in the way of food or other essentials. Most of the population relies on international aid.

Paraguay's president addresses the Knesset ahead of embassy reopening in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — The president of Paraguay addressed the Israeli parliament Wednesday ahead of the reopening of the country’s embassy in Jerusalem.

The decision to reopen the embassy in Jerusalem and recognize the city as the capital of Israel is a diplomatic win for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and puts Paraguay in a small group of countries that have taken the move.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 but it wasn't recognized by the international community, and most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv.

“Without Jerusalem, the land of Israel is a body without a soul,” President Santiago Peña said in a speech to the Knesset. “So I say here today that without an embassy in Jerusalem, diplomatic relations with Israel do not have a real heart.” He said he hoped the move would inspire other countries to do the same.

The embassy is set to open Thursday.

Pena’s move was welcomed by Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, along with other Israeli leaders.

“Tomorrow we will inaugurate together the embassy of Paraguay in our eternal capital, and that will happen not for the first time, but for the second time,” Netanyahu said.

Paraguay had an embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, under Former President Horacio Cartes. That embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv by Cartes’ successor, Mario Abdo Benitez, prompting Israel to close its embassy in Asuncion.

Israel reopened its embassy in September.

Russia says it's in touch with new authorities in Syria

MOSCOW — Russia said Wednesday it has maintained contacts with the new authorities in Syria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “we are monitoring most closely what is happening in Syria.”

“We, of course, maintain contacts with those who are currently controlling the situation in Syria,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

“This is necessary because our bases are located there, our diplomatic mission is located there and, of course, the issue related to ensuring the security of these facilities is extremely important and of primary significance.”

Peskov wouldn’t give details of those contacts, saying only that Russia has contacted “those who are controlling the situation on the ground.”

He wouldn’t give the number of Russian troops in Syria.

Asked to comment about Israel’s seizure of a buffer zone on the border with Syria, Peskov called them destabilizing.

“The strikes and actions in the Golan Heights area, in the buffer zone area, are unlikely to help stabilize the situation in an already destabilized Syria,” he said.

Russia has granted political asylum to ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family after they fled rebels who seized Damascus over the weekend.

Iran's supreme leader says fall of Syrian government was part of joint plan by US and Israel

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the recent events in Syria, including the fall of its government, were part of a joint plan by the United States and Israel.

“There should be no doubt that what has happened in Syria is the result of a joint American and Zionist plan," Khamenei said in a speech in Tehran on Wednesday that was broadcast on state TV. “We have evidence, and this evidence leaves no room for doubt.”

The Supreme leader added: “A neighboring state of Syria has played a clear role in this matter, and it continues to do so. Everyone can see this.”

Khamenei also rejected speculation by analysts who have said that Iran will be weakened by the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

“Those ignorant analysts are unaware of the meaning of resistance. They think that if resistance weakens, Islamic Iran will also weaken. But I say, with the help and power of God — by the will of Almighty Allah — Iran is powerful and it will become even more powerful," he said.