Twenty Palestinians were killed at a food distribution center run by an Israeli-backed American organization in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, mostly from being trampled, the group said. They were the first deaths reported at one of the Gaza Humanitarian Fund sites, although hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces on the roads leading to them, according to witnesses and health officials.
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 54 others, including 14 children, according to hospital officials.
Meanwhile in Syria, government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire late Wednesday after that have threatened to unravel the country鈥檚 postwar political transition and drawn escalated military intervention from neighboring Israel.
Here's the latest:
Turkey says ceasefire in Syria possible within 3-4 hours
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking to Turkish journalists in New York, said his country was coordinating closely with neighboring nations and the U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, who is also the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
The Turkish minister also said that Turkey had directly communicated with Israel through its intelligence agency, sharing its concerns over the attacks and proposing 鈥渟olutions,鈥 which he did not elaborate.
UN calls reports of dozens killed at 鈥業sraeli-militarized鈥 food site in Gaza 鈥榟orrific鈥
Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesman, also described people being severely injured at the U.S.-run Gaza Humanitarian Fund sites, such as the World Health Organization report on a 21-year-old man shot and paralyzed for life while trying to collect a bag of flour at one of the hubs.
The spokesman told reporters Wednesday that the U.N. Population Fund, meanwhile, reports that domestic violence, sexual exploitation and abuse are on the rise and 鈥減regnant women are delivering their babies in the dark, with no electricity or no skilled care to address potential complications.鈥
Additionally, a survey by one of the U.N.鈥檚 partners found that more than 80% of people with disabilities have lost wheelchairs, hearing aids, walkers and many other devices during the war in Gaza, Dujarric said.
UN chief condemns Israel鈥檚 stepped-up airstrikes in Syria and all violence against civilians
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterates his call for 鈥渁n immediate de-escalation of violence and urgent measures to restore calm and facilitate humanitarian access,鈥 U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday.
The U.N. chief is 鈥檃larmed鈥 at the escalating violence in Sweida, a Druze-majority area which has reportedly caused hundreds of deaths including civilians and injured and displaced many more, Dujarric said.
Dujarric said in response to a question that videos showing government forces attacking civilians 鈥渁re shocking and highly, highly disturbing.鈥 He said that鈥檚 why Guterres is eager to follow up with the government on its call for an investigation and its commitment to accountability for those responsible.
The secretary-general also condemns 鈥淚srael鈥檚 escalatory airstrikes on Sweida, Daraa and in the center of Damascus鈥 and reports that Israel is redeploying troops in the Golan, Dujarric said.
Key governing partner of Netanyahu quits
A key governing partner of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday it is quitting the government, leaving him with a minority in parliament.
The Shas ultra-Orthodox party said it was leaving over disagreements surrounding a proposed law meant to grant wide military draft exemptions to its constituents.
A second ultra-Orthodox party quit earlier this week over the same issue.
Leading a minority government would make governing a challenge for Netanyahu. But Shas said it wouldn鈥檛 work to undermine the coalition once outside it and could vote with it on some laws. It also wouldn鈥檛 support its collapse.
The political turmoil comes as Israel and Hamas are negotiating on a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza.
Fearing for their relatives, Druze in Israeli-controlled territory cross into Syria
Members of the Druze minority in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights were seen crossing into Syria on Wednesday, fearing for their relatives鈥 fate as clashes raged between Syrian Druze and government forces.
Waving the community鈥檚 multicolored flag, a procession of people from the minority marched into Syria. Israeli forces were seen nearby.
Once in Syrian territory, Druze were seen reuniting with their loved ones. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, separating many Druze families from their relatives in Syria.
Residents said they felt they had to do something in the face of harsh images emerging from the clashes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for us to stand here, not doing anything,鈥 said Majd Shaer, who said he has relatives in Syria.
Syrian media reports a new ceasefire agreement has been reached
A new ceasefire agreement has been reached to end days of fighting between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern city of Sweida, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified Interior Ministry official.
The report said 鈥渟ecurity checkpoints have been deployed in the city, and it has been fully integrated into the Syrian state.鈥 There was no immediate statement from Druze officials. A previous ceasefire agreement reached the day before quickly fell apart.
The clashes in Sweida province initially broke out between members of local Bedouin tribes and Druze militias. Government security forces deployed to restore order, but also began clashing with the Druze factions, with allegations that government-affiliated forces had looted and burned civilian houses and carried out summary executions.
U.S. 鈥榲ery concerned鈥 by Israel-Syria violence
The U.S. is 鈥 very concerned鈥 about the latest surge in Israel-Syria violence and has been in touch with both sides in an effort to restore what had been a fragile ceasefire between the two countries, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very concerned about it, we want it to stop,鈥 Rubio told reporters at the State Department after signing a civilian nuclear agreement with the foreign minister of Bahrain.
Rubio said he had just been on the phone with 鈥渞elevant parties鈥 and that he hoped to have an update later.
Turkey criticizes Israeli airstrikes on Damascus
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday's strikes on the Syrian capital were an a attempt to sabotage Syria鈥檚 efforts to achieve peace, stability and security, and called for support for Syria鈥檚 efforts to restore order across the country.
鈥淭he Syrian people have a historic opportunity to live in peace and integrate with the world,鈥 the ministry said. 鈥淎ll stakeholders who support this opportunity should contribute to the Syrian government鈥檚 efforts to restore peace.鈥
Omer Celik, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan鈥檚 ruling party, also affirmed Turkey鈥檚 support to Syria.
鈥淚srael鈥檚 attacks pose a security threat to the entire region and the world,鈥 Celik wrote on the social media platform X.
Israeli jets strike Syrian defense ministry headquarters again
Israeli jets struck the Syrian Defense Ministry's headquarters in central Damascus in the second such attack Wednesday.
The strike, which came hours after a drone strike on the same site in the capital, caused significant damage.
Israel has launched a series of strikes targeting Syrian government forces in the southern Sweida province. The Israeli government says it鈥檚 to support the Druze community.
Syrian state media reported that there were a 鈥渘umber of wounded鈥 people in the strike, without giving details. The building is located close to the busy Ummayad Square.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that they will escalate their attacks against the Syrian government with 鈥減ainful blows鈥.
Syria鈥檚 Defense Ministry had earlier blamed militias in the Druze-majority area of Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire. The Druze have accused government forces and allies of sectarian attacks, looting, and beatings during their ongoing military operation.
Hundreds from Druze community gather along Syria-Israel border
Hundreds of members of the Druze community from Majdal Shams and Druze villages in northern Israel have gathered along the border fence with Syria, trying to enter the country to support Druze armed groups as they continue to clash with Syria's government forces.
Videos widely circulated on social media showed that many Druze were able to cross into Syria, where the majority of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live.
Meanwhile, hundreds of the Syrian Druze community gathered on the other side of the fence, though it was not immediately clear if they were demonstrating or trying to cross the border. The Israeli military said dozens have tried to cross into Israel. Tensions intensified when several Syrian Druze protesters stood atop a tractor waiving Druze flags and Israeli troops responded by lobbing tear gas, forcing them to shortly retreat.
Dozens have been killed in the hostilities sparked by a series of tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
US ambassador pays surprise visit to Netanyahu鈥檚 trial
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, briefly attended the court proceedings of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, saying he wanted to support the embattled Israeli leader in his ongoing corruption trial.
Huckabee鈥檚 visit to the courthouse was a rare act of involvement in his host country鈥檚 internal affairs. It comes after President Donald Trump condemned the trial as a 鈥渨itch hunt.鈥
Speaking in Tel Aviv, Huckabee said the visit was a matter of 鈥渞epresenting what the president has said repeatedly.鈥
Netanyahu is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
鈥淭he president has made his position very clear,鈥 Huckabee said ahead of his visit to the courthouse. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a personal thing for him. He considers the Prime Minister a friend.鈥 After the visit, Huckabee reposted Trump鈥檚 call for the trial to be thrown out and added the comment: 鈥淢y conclusion? Trump is right鈥gain.鈥
Israel strikes near d
efense ministry in Damascus
The Israeli army said Wednesday that it struck near the entrance to the Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus, as clashes continued in the southern Syrian city of Sweida after a ceasefire between government forces and Druze armed groups collapsed.
Israel has launched a series of airstrikes on convoys of government forces in southern Syria since the clashes erupted and has beefed up forces on the border. It has said it is acting to protect the Druze religious minority.
The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
Stun grenades and pepper spray caused chaos at food distribution site
Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry and witnesses said GHF workers used tear gas against the crowd outside one of its food distribution hubs, causing a panic. The ministry said that it was the first time people have been killed by a stampede .
鈥淭hey used stun grenades and pepper spray against us. They had aid inside, but they intentionally did not distribute it to let people crowd outside,鈥 said Abdullah Aleyat, who was at the GHF site on Wednesday morning.
Omar Al-Najjar, a resident of the nearby city of Rafah, said people were gasping for air, possibly from tear gas.
The injuries were 鈥渘ot from gunfire, but from people clustering and pushing against each other,鈥 Al-Najjar said as he carried an injured stranger to a hospital.
The sites are inside Israeli military zones protected by private American contractors, and Israeli troops surround the sites.
The United Nations human rights office and Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry said Tuesday that 875 Palestinians in the enclave have been killed while seeking food since May, with 674 of those in the vicinity of aid distribution sites run by GHF.
