Netanyahu orders prep for ceasefire talks under US proposal
Russia says told US not to 'use force' in Yemen
Hamas, Hezbollah condemn US attacks on Yemen
Protesters across US demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil
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March 16, 2025
Death toll in Gaza tops 48,570
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Israeli fire injures two Palestinians in West Bank raidsTwo Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire in military raids in the occupied West Bank, medics said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said a young man was injured in his leg by Israeli fire in the town of Sair northeast of Hebron city and was transferred to a hospital.
The state news agency Wafa said Israeli forces raided the town using live fire and tear gas canisters, injuring one more person.
Israel imposes gag order on investigation involving senior Netanyahu aideIsraeli authorities have imposed a gag order on a new investigation by the Shin Bet domestic security service into a senior official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, Haaretz newspaper reported.
According to the newspaper, the investigation also involves "another individual, a protest activist who is not employed in Netanyahu's office".
"The gag order was issued last week, and stipulates a 30-day publication ban on the details of the case," the daily said.
No details were provided about the nature of the case.
Iran denies aiding Yemen's HouthisIran once again denied aiding Yemen's Houthis after the United States launched a wave of air strikes against them and President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would be held "fully accountable" for their actions.
General Hossein Salami, head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, denied his country was involved in the Houthis' attacks, saying it "plays no role in setting the national or operational policies" of the groups it is allied with across the region, according to state-run TV.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, urged the US to halt the strikes and said Washington cannot dictate Iran's foreign policy.
Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in southAn Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed one person, the health ministry said, the latest attack more than three months into a ceasefire.
The strike, which also wounded one person, targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am local time (0000 GMT), the official National News Agency reported.
"The Israeli enemy's air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yater resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen and the injury of another," the ministry said in a statement carried by NNA.
It comes a day after the ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern border town of Burj al-Muluk.
Death toll in US strikes on Yemen rises to 31: health ministryThe death toll in the first US strikes on Yemen under President Donald Trump has risen to 31, the Yemeni health ministry said.
Attacks on the capital Sanaa, as well as on areas in Saada, Al Bayda and Radaa killed 31 people and wounded 101, "most of whom were children and women", ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi posted on X.
End support for Israel, stop killing people of Yemen: Iran responds to Trump's threatThe Iranian foreign minister said the US has no authority or mandate to dictate Iran's foreign policy because "that era ended in 1979".
Seyed Abbas Araghchi criticised the Biden administration for providing an unprecedented $23 billion to Israel last year, alleging that more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and the world holds the US fully responsible.
He directly addressed Washington's demand to stop supporting the Houthis in Yemen, saying, "End support for Israel's genocide and terrorism. Stop killing the people of Yemen."
Netanyahu orders Israeli delegation to prep for ceasefire talks under US proposalIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with a delegation that returned from Qatar to discuss ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, his office said.
At the end of the meeting that included ministers and security officials, Netanyahu ordered preparations for negotiations under a proposal by US President Donald Trump's Special Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The proposal includes the immediate release of 11 Israeli hostages and the remains of half of the deceased captives, according to a statement. Israeli media previously reported that Witkoff presented a new proposal during ceasefire talks in Doha.
US, Russia discuss Ukraine, Yemen strikesThe US has informed Russia of strikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa that killed at least 24 people.
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Hamas condemns US, UK attacks on YemenHamas issued a statement condemning US and UK air strikes on Sanaa as an attack on Yemen's sovereignty and stability.
"We strongly condemn the US and UK air strike targeting a residential area in Sanaa and consider it a blatant violation of international law," the statement said on Telegram.
Houthis in Yemen announced that 24 people, including four children and a woman, were killed and 23 others wounded in US and UK strikes on Sanaa and the northern province of Saada in the last 24 hours.
Mahmoud Khalil's wife: 'I was naive to believe he was safe from arrest'Noor Abdalla, Khalil's wife of more than two years, wants her husband home for birth of their first child in April.
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