BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa says it has failed in an attempt to have Jhon Duran’s red card at Newcastle overturned on appeal. The 21-year-old Colombia international was sent off 32 minutes into a 3-0 defeat in the Premier League at St. James’ Park on Thursday after appearing to stamp on defender Fabian Schar, prompting a furious reaction from Villa head coach Unai Emery, who later indicated that the club would appeal. However, Villa said Friday night that its bid was unsuccessful and the forward will now serve a three-match ban for violent conduct. “Aston Villa can confirm that our decision to appeal Jhon Duran’s red card in our match with Newcastle United has been rejected," a statement on Villa’s official X account read. "The player will now miss our next three matches.” Duran will miss Premier League games against Brighton and Leicester, followed by Villa's FA Cup third-round match with West Ham on Jan. 10. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerLeBlanc and Joly offer little details about visit with Trump's team in FloridaNone
Trump asks Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban so he can 'negotiate a resolution'Top council leader quits over claims he sent refugees explicit messages
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After taking over as governor amid a scandal in 2018, Republican Mike Parson hoped to bring stability to a state that had just watched the unsettling resignation of his predecessor. But, in an expansive interview as he prepares to leave office, Missouri’s 57th chief executive said he remains in awe of how multiple crises unfolded during his tenure as chief executive. Within weeks of taking over for scandal-plagued Republican Eric Greitens, the former state lawmaker and county sheriff raced to Branson in the aftermath of the sinking of a duck boat ride at Table Rock Lake that killed 17 tourists. There was a flood, a drought , a crisis in the St. Louis prosecutor’s office and the COVID-19 pandemic. “There was so much turmoil when I first walked in these doors. The first big challenge was, ‘How do you stabilize that?’” Parson said. “I think at the end of the day, we did.” Parson will leave the warren of offices overlooking the Missouri River on the Capitol’s second floor on Jan. 13, handing the keys to Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, a fellow Republican who has signaled he too wants relative continuity in 2025 by retaining a number of Parson holdovers to serve in his Cabinet. In a wide-ranging conversation with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Parson said there were many incidents that no governor could have been prepared to face, including a respiratory virus that infected a third of all residents and killed 22,000 Missourians. Like other governors, Parson faced evolving and often conflicting health advice, as well as members of the public split on masks, vaccines and school and business closures. “It was one of the most difficult times I had,” Parson said. “It was just unprecedented.” The governmental response to the virus wasn’t just a fight between a more relaxed approach in rural Missouri versus heightened health concerns in more populous urban areas, Parson said. “Some people wanted mandates, some people didn’t and that was all over the state,” said Parson, pointing to examples that came from friends in his hometown of Bolivar. “I remember people down home talking about churches, for example. I remember people calling me and saying you need to shut the churches down,” Parson said. “And that was people back home. You had that kind of pressure every day.” The COVID-19 shutdowns sent Missouri’s unemployment rate skyrocketing, pushing beyond the 12% level in April 2020. But, through a combination of vaccines and businesses opening, the rate was down to 6.8% by July 2020 and 4.2% a year later. “The whole time you’re fighting the virus you’re trying to keep the economy going,” he said. Parson said his decision to not shut down the state was based largely on his experience of owning a Polk County gas station in his younger days. Small business owners need to pay loans, mortgages and employees. “We made it possible for people to stay open,” Parson said. “I think looking back on it we did the right thing.” It wasn’t smooth sailing. In July 2020, Parson downplayed the risk of children contracting the coronavirus during school reopenings, insisting “they’re going to get over it.” “These kids have got to get back to school,” he said at the time. “They’re at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices. They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it.” “We gotta move on,” he continued. “We can’t just let this thing stop us in our tracks.” The blowback was harsh. Some health officials expressed concern about returning to schools because students could carry the virus home to older relatives. “I probably didn’t do it as tactfully as I should have,” Parson now acknowledges. “It was pretty brutal. People came after me with both barrels.” The governor’s approach to COVID-19 was similar to how he addressed other issues. Often out of sync Parson governed as a staunch Republican, eagerly taking up GOP talking points on guns, immigration and cultural issues. He signed a strict abortion ban in 2019 that went into effect in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. He won legislative support to give the nation’s lowest-paid state workers raises topping 25% to address an ongoing labor shortage in his administration, but he refused to sign any state worker employee union contracts during his entire tenure. Long waiting times for residents seeking state benefits were a frustrating feature of the Parson era. Missouri voters also sent Parson and his fellow Republicans multiple reminders that Missouri is not a wholly red state when it comes to social service issues. In 2020, for example, Missouri voters approved an expansion of Medicaid coverage after years of Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s signature achievement of trying to fix the nation’s health care system. Parson opposed the expansion as a dangerous drain on tax revenues. The administration slow-walked the voter-approved rollout until the Supreme Court of Missouri held the expansion amendment to be constitutional. People began enrolling in October 2021, nearly a year after the matter was approved at the ballot box. Expansion has proven popular. As of Dec. 6, more than 316,000 adults were enrolled to get health coverage. In all, there are nearly 1.3 million Missourians receiving health insurance through Obamacare. In response to the Medicaid vote and other citizen-led petition drives, Parson says lawmakers must make it harder for residents to amend the state’s constitution. Republicans who control the Legislature were unable to raise the threshold for passage during a contentious spring legislative session and, by the fall, voters overturned the ban on abortion through an initiative petition. Although Parson favors toughening the standards for passage of amendments, he also urged the Legislature to resolve problems before residents feel the need to make changes themselves at the ballot box. “If you don’t take action ... people are going to go to the initiative petition process because they get frustrated because nothing ever happens here and nobody is willing to come to a compromise,” Parson said. The state budget also grew exponentially during his tenure, some of that due to an influx of billions of dollars in federal funds. As he leaves office, Parson contends that a series of income tax cuts also helped boost the bottom line. “Yes, the budget has ballooned during this administration. There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “It’s because revenues went up. If you put money back in people’s pockets, the general revenue and the economy grows.” Picking the ‘right people’ Parson’s relationship with the Democrat-controlled St. Louis region was sometimes testy over Republican opposition to tightening the state’s loose gun laws and ongoing threats to put the city’s police department under state control. “I set out early on to make sure the people of St. Louis realize I just wasn’t some old country boy from southwest Missouri and I was just going to take care of things back home,” Parson said. “For the state of Missouri to do well, St. Louis must do well.” “You’ve got to be part of finding solutions. Sometimes when you get involved it becomes controversial,” he said. Parson said he never imagined he would be in the middle of a fight over the St. Louis city prosecutor’s office when he was first sworn in. “I didn’t even know it was my job to pick the circuit attorney of St. Louis,” Parson said. In 2023, Parson appointed Gabe Gore , a civil attorney, to rebuild the city prosecutor’s office following the abrupt resignation of beleaguered Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner. Gore, then a partner at the high-powered and politically connected Dowd Bennett law firm, served on the Ferguson Commission following protests over the 2014 death of Michael Brown and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney prosecutor in the 1990s. “That was a big selection. You could tell he cared about the city,” Parson said of Gore. Parson also had the unprecedented opportunity to appoint four people to statewide office to fill vacancies when the officeholder ran for higher office and left the post open. He elevated state treasurer Eric Schmitt to attorney general to succeed Josh Hawley. Hawley and Schmitt are now both U.S. senators. Parson named Scott Fitzpatrick, a state representative, to succeed Schmitt as treasurer. Fitzpatrick is now state auditor. The governor named his general counsel Andrew Bailey to succeed Schmitt as attorney general and lawyer Vivek Malek to succeed Fitzpatrick as treasurer. “I really tried to pick people who were good for the jobs,” he said. All four ran for election after their appointments and voters gave them easy wins on Election Day — a result Parson says means that he chose the right people. “I think the people of the state said, ‘You did a pretty good job,’” Parson said. There also were controversies inside the Capitol and outside. At the height of the pandemic, amid concerns about the ongoing spread of the virus, former House Speaker Rob Vescovo informed Parson’s office that he would have to deliver the annual State of the State speech to an empty House chamber. An enraged Parson received permission to give his speech in the Senate chamber. Two days later, a fuming Parson fired off a letter accusing Vescovo of engaging in a “purposeful and disgusting scheme to embarrass” him. “Instead, Wednesday became an insider stunt and petty show of arrogance and political power,” Parson wrote. Dealing with the media In 2021, Parson accused the Post-Dispatch of hacking into a state website despite evidence that his own administration’s computer shortcomings had left personal information about Missouri teachers available within a few mouse clicks on a state-run website. He never apologized for the accusation after prosecutors declined to press charges. Parson also raised eyebrows for pardoning Central West End attorney Mark McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, in 2021 for brandishing guns at protesters who were moving through the neighborhood. He also was criticized in 2024 for pardoning Britt Reid, the son of Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid, who had been in prison for a drunken driving crash that seriously injured a 5-year-old girl. His decision this month to commute the prison sentence of former police detective Eric DeValkenaere , the first Kansas City officer ever convicted of killing a Black man, was, as expected, highly controversial. But Parson also was widely praised for granting clemency to Patty Prewitt , who had spent 40 years behind bars for her husband’s 1984 murder. “It wasn’t like we liked all the stories anyone wrote, but you’re not in the business of writing everything I like,” Parson said. “You have to learn to deal with the media. From Day One, we tried to establish a role with the media. And for the most part we were able to do that,” he said. Parson said Kehoe will hit the ground running next month. He hopes the former senator and Jefferson City businessman will address the state’s child care industry, which has not recovered from the pandemic. A key to solving the problems lies with Kehoe navigating divisiveness among Republicans, who have been unable to overcome differences in the state Senate, leading to a record-low number of non-budget bills going to Parson’s desk. “I think he’s got a really good foundation to build on,” Parson said. “If there is one thing on the table that I didn’t get done ... you’ve got to do something about the day care situation in the state.” “It is a huge issue for everyday people out there. There’s just a lack of it,” Parson said. As he heads back to Bolivar, a city of 11,300 people, his small cattle operation and home to Southwest Baptist University, Parson said the last six years were more intense than many can imagine. “The worst part of the job is time. You just have very little time,” Parson said. “I missed my family. I missed a lot of ball games. It is a pressure cooker every day and it just never stops.” But, he said, “We got about everything done that we started out to do. I’m looking forward to going home.” ©2024 STLtoday.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Not Purdy: 49ers hit Green Bay with backup QB, no Bosa
Stock market today: Wall Street inches higher to set more recordsFour Growers closes $9M Series A backed by Basset Capital, Y CombinatorAnother big-time college football quarterback has entered the transfer portal. Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah is reportedly entering the transfer portal when it officially opens on Monday, according to multiple reports, including ESPN's Pete Thamel . The redshirt freshman should be among the top signal callers in the portal, given his production and three seasons of eligibility remaining. REQUIRED READING: Alabama, ACC headline winners and losers from College Football Playoff bracket reveal A first-year starter in 2024, Mensah beat out former blue-chip Oregon quarterback Ty Thompson, a junior in his first season with the Green Wave . The 6-foot-3 quarterback completed 189 of 287 passes (65.9%) for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns to six interceptions, adding 132 rushing yards and a touchdown. Mensah led Tulane to the American Athletic Conference championship game on Friday, which it lost to Army 35-14. Overall, Tulane finished 9-4 on the season with two losses to Power Four programs in Kansas State and Oklahoma, both of which he performed well against. In fact, Mensah's career-high in passing yards is 342, which came against the Wildcats after he nearly led Tulane to an upset win after completing 19 of 29 passes with two touchdowns to an interception. Mensah finished 14 of 32 passing for 166 yards with a touchdown to an interception against the Sooners ' stout defense in nonconference play. The San Luis Obispo, California, native is not yet ranked by 247Sports' Composite transfer rankings, however, he will likely be ranked much higher than out of high school, when he was a 2-star recruit tabbed the nation's No. 2289 player overall and No. 135 quarterback. Tulane and Idaho State were reportedly the schools to make him offers, with the former obviously being his choice. Mensah joins other high-end transfer portal quarterbacks like Texas A&M's Conner Weigman, USC's Miller Moss, Oklahoma's Jackson Arnold and Liberty's Kaidon Salter, with presumably many more additions to come when the transfer portal officially opens Monday.
Israeli drone strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital on Tuesday, wounding three medical staff at one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza , the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held despite Israeli forces carrying out several new drone and artillery strikes on Tuesday, killing a shepherd in the country's south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed keep striking “with an iron fist” against perceived Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas militants who are fighting in the Gaza Strip. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage . Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians , more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war in Gaza has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times . Here's the Latest: WASHINGTON — U.S. forces conducted a self-defense strike Tuesday in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a U.S. base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said presented “a clear and imminent threat” to U.S. troops. The self-defense strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired that landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder said. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — that there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area. Ryder said the attack was not connected to the offensive that is ongoing in Aleppo, where Syrian jihadi-led rebels taken over the country’s largest city. The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic Stage group. CAIRO — Israeli drone strikes hit the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday, wounding three medical personnel, the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital, located in the town of Beit Lahiya. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In comments released by Gaza’s Health Ministry, Abu Safiya said one of the injured was in critical condition and was undergoing a complex surgery. “The situation has become extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are exhausted by the ongoing violence and atrocities.” Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months as Israeli forces have waged a fierce offensive in the area, saying they are rooting out Hamas militants who regrouped there. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim. Abu Safiya was wounded in his thigh and back by an Israeli drone strike on the hospital last month. TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the stand next week in his long-running corruption trial, ending a long series of delays. Netanyahu’s lawyers had filed multiple requests to put off the testimony, arguing first that the war in Gaza prevented him from properly preparing for his testimony, and later that his security could not be guaranteed in the court chamber. In Tuesday’s decision, judges in the Jerusalem district court said that following a security assessment, his testimony will be moved to the Tel Aviv district court. Israeli media said the session would take place in an underground chamber. His testimony in the trial, which began in 2020, is expected to begin on Dec. 10 and to last at least several weeks. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing. NABATIYEH, Lebanon — In destroyed areas of southern Lebanon, residents clearing away rubble on Tuesday said they didn’t trust Israel to abide by the week-old ceasefire with Hezbollah. “The Israelis are breaching the ceasefire whenever they can because they are not committed,” said Hussein Badreddin, a vegetable seller in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, which was pummeled by Israeli airstrikes over several weeks. “This means that they (can) breach any resolution at any time.” Since it began last Wednesday, the U.S.- and French-brokered 60-day ceasefire has been rattled by near daily Israeli strikes, although Israel has been vague about the purported Hezbollah violations that prompted them. Imad Yassin, a trader who owns a clothing shop in Nabatiyeh, said Israel was constantly breaching the ceasefire because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the displacement of residents of southern Lebanon. “The Israeli enemy was defeated and the truth is that he is trying to get revenge. Netanyahu is trying to displace us as citizens of southern Lebanon,” Yassin said. They spoke as bulldozers cleared streets strewn with rubble and debris from destroyed buildings. Electricians worked to fix power lines in an effort to restore electricity to the city. Both men were displaced by the war and returned to Nabatiyeh on Wednesday, the day the ceasefire went into effect. Yassin found his clothing shop had been destroyed. He said he would wait to see if the state will dispense compensation funds so that he can repair and reopen his business. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine people in Gaza City on Tuesday, Palestinian medical authorities said. Six people, including two children, who were killed when an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced people Tuesday afternoon in the Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency services. A second strike hit a residential building in the Sabra neighborhood, killing at least three people, the services said. Israeli forces have almost completely isolated northernmost Gaza since early October, saying they’re fighting regrouped Hamas militants there. That has pushed some families south to Gaza City, while hundreds of thousands more live in the territory's center and south in squalid tent camps, where they rely on international aid. JERUSALEM — Israel's military confirmed it killed a senior member of Hezbollah responsible for coordinating with Syria's army on rearming and resupplying the Lebanese militant group. Syrian state media said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a car in a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing one person, without saying who was killed. Israel's military said he was Salman Nemer Jomaa, describing him as “Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military,” and that killing him “degrades both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building efforts.” Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups. Iran supports both Hezbollah and the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, which is currently fighting to push back jihadi-led insurgents who seized the country’s largest city of Aleppo . TUBAS, West Bank — Israeli soldiers opened fire inside a hospital in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday during a raid to seize the bodies of alleged militants targeted in earlier airstrikes, a Palestinian doctor working at the hospital told The Associated Press. Soldiers entered the Turkish Hospital complex in Tubas after the bodies of two Palestinians killed and one wounded in airstrikes in the northern West Bank on Tuesday were brought there, said Dr. Mahmoud Ghanam, who works in the hospital’s emergency department. The troops briefly handcuffed and arrested Ghanam and another doctor. “The army entered in a brutal way, and they were shooting inside the emergency department,” said Ghanam. “They handcuffed us and took me and my colleague.” The military confirmed that its troops were operating around the hospital searching for those targeted in the airstrikes, which they said had hit a militant cell near the Palestinian town of Al-Aqaba in the Jordan Valley. It denied that troops had entered the hospital building or fired gunshots inside. The soldiers left after learning that the wounded man had been transferred to another hospital, Ghanam said. The soldiers wanted to take the bodies of the two men killed in the strike, but the hospital’s manager refused to hand over the bodies, Ghanam said. Israeli raids on hospitals in the West Bank are rare but have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In Gaza, Israeli troops have systematically besieged, raided and damaged many hospitals. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis — attacks which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three territories for an independent state. CAIRO — Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war . It would effectively end Hamas’ rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel. The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority . A Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from Gaza. It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. A Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza , with civilian affairs administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military. The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed. NUSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Palestinians lined up for bags of flour distributed by the U.N. in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, some of them for the first time in months amid a drop in food aid entering the territory. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, gave out one 25-kilogram flour bag (55 pounds) to each family of 10 at a warehouse in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as well as further south in the city of Khan Younis. Jalal al-Shaer, among the dozens receiving flour at the Nuseirat warehouse, said the bag would last his family of 12 for only two or three days. “The situation for us is very difficult,” said another man in line, Hammad Moawad. “There is no flour, there is no food, prices are high ... We eat bread crumbs.” He said his family hadn’t received a flour allotment in five or six months. COGAT, the Israeli army body in charge of humanitarian affairs, said it facilitated entry of a shipment of 600 tons of flour on Sunday for the World Food Program. Still, the amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza since the beginning of October has been at nearly the lowest levels of the 15-month-old war. UNRWA’s senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge told The Associated Press that the flour bags being distributed Tuesday were not enough. “People are getting one bag of flour between an entire family and there is no certainty when they’ll receive the next food,” she said. Wateridge added that UNRWA has been struggling like other humanitarian agencies to provide much needed supplies across the Gaza Strip. The agency this week announced it was stopping delivering aid entering through the main crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, because its convoys were being robbed by gangs. UNRWA has blamed Israel in large part for the spread of lawlessness in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over accusations of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel rejects the allegations and says it has been working hard to improve entry of aid. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war isn't over against Hezbollah and vowed to use "an iron fist" against the Lebanese militant group for any perceived violations of a week-old ceasefire. “At the moment we are in a ceasefire, I note — a ceasefire, not the end of the war," Netanyahu said at the start of the government meeting Tuesday. He said the military would retaliate for “any violation — minor or major.” Netanyahu also thanked U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for his recent demands for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. Trump posted on social media Monday that if the hostages are not freed before he takes office in January there would be “HELL TO PAY.” Netanyahu convened Tuesday's meeting in northern Israel, where around 45,000 Israelis had been displaced by the war as of last week, according to the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu said the government was focused on getting them back in their homes and rehabilitating the area. BERLIN — German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the militant organization in Germany. Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in the Hannover region on Tuesday. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence. Prosecutors said he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the militants. According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at a mosque. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000. BEIRUT — The Lebanese army is looking for more recruits as it beefs up its presence in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Lebanon’s army is a respected national institution that kept to the sidelines during the nearly 14-month conflict. During an initial 60-day truce, thousands of Lebanese troops are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon, where U.N. peacekeepers also have a presence. Hezbollah militants are to pull back from areas near the border as Israel withdraws its ground forces. The army said those interested in joining up have a one-month period to apply, starting Tuesday. The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, with around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s state news agency says a drone strike hit a car in a suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one person. The agency did not give further details or say who was killed. It said the attack occurred Tuesday on the road leading to the Damascus International Airport south of the city. The area is known to be home to members of Iran-backed militant groups. Israel is believed to have carried out a number of strikes in the area in recent months as it has battled Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge such strikes. JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister warned that if the shaky ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, Israel will widen its strikes and target the Lebanese state itself. He spoke the day after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes that killed nearly a dozen people. Those strikes came after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were previous Israeli violations. Speaking to troops on the northern border Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said any violations of the agreement would be met with “a maximum response and zero tolerance.” He said if the war resumes, Israel will widen its strikes beyond the areas where Hezbollah’s activities are concentrated, and “there will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon.” During the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which came to an end last week with a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France, Israel largely refrained from striking critical infrastructure or the Lebanese armed forces, who kept to the sidelines . When Israeli strikes killed or wounded Lebanese soldiers, the Israeli military said it was accidental . The ceasefire agreement that took effect last week gives 60 days for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and for Hezbollah militants to relocate north of the Litani River. The buffer zone is to be patrolled by Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers. Israel has carried out multiple strikes in recent days in response to what it says are violations by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes near the border and violating Lebanon’s airspace. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, had helped mediate the ceasefire. JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike in the northern West Bank has killed two Palestinians. Israel’s military said it struck a militant cell near the town of Al-Aqaba, in the Jordan Valley. It did not immediately give more details. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the two deaths and said a third person was moderately wounded. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis, which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for an independent state. BEIRUT — Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon made his first public appearance in Beirut since he was wounded in an attack involving exploding pagers in mid-September. Mojtaba Amani, who returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing treatment in Iran, visited on Tuesday the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27. Speaking about the airstrike that destroyed six buildings and killed Nasrallah and others, Amani said Israel should get for its act “the highest medal for sabotage, terrorism, blood and killing civilians.” Amani suffered serious injuries in his face and hands when a pager he was holding exploded in mid-September. The device was one of about 3,000 pagers that exploded simultaneously, killing and wounding many Hezbollah members. A day after the pager attack, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, many of them civilians. Last month, a spokesperson for the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pager attack was approved by Netanyahu.
What Does X3D Mean In AMD CPUs And Why Is It Better For Gaming?
Horace Ekow Ewusi, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Cape Coast North, has reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the most vulnerable members of society, particularly widows, as Ghana prepares for the December 7 elections. Ewusi made the pledge during a meeting with over 300 widows in the constituency, where he took the opportunity to discuss key issues, provide financial support, and renew his promise to assist those in need. “Helping the vulnerable, especially widows, is a principle I deeply believe in. It is our collective responsibility to ensure everyone has access to the resources they need to thrive,” Ewusi said. He assured the vulnerable communities in Cape Coast North that he is dedicated to helping them overcome the challenges they face. Ewusi urged constituents to vote for him as their Member of Parliament and for NPP flagbearer Mahamudu Bawumia as president in the upcoming polls. “I have already begun supporting the people, and if elected, I will do even more. Vote for me and Dr. Bawumia on December 7, and we will continue to improve the lives of our people,” he stated. The parliamentary candidate also assured the public that the elections will be free, fair, transparent, and peaceful, calling on Ghanaians to avoid electoral violence.Not Purdy: 49ers hit Green Bay with backup QB, no BosaNone
NoneSerenity Psychotherapy Group Now Offers Telehealth Therapy in Navy Yard 12-10-2024 12:06 AM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Getnews / PR Agency: The SED Society Image: https://www.getnews.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1733758657.jpg Serenity Psychotherapy Group, a leading mental health provider, is now offering telehealth therapy services to residents of Navy Yard and the surrounding areas. Serenity Psychotherapy Group [ https://serenitypsychotherapygroup.com/service-area/navy-yard/ ], a leading mental health provider, is now offering telehealth therapy services to residents of Navy Yard and the surrounding areas. This expansion of their services aims to make quality mental health care more accessible and convenient for individuals who may face challenges in attending in-person therapy sessions. Remote Mental Health Services With the growing demand for remote mental health services [ https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.131944,-79.330838&z=3&t=m&hl=en&gl=NG&mapclient=embed&cid=12943743491501790968 ], Serenity Psychotherapy Group has embraced telehealth technology to provide online counseling and virtual therapy sessions. Their licensed therapists understand that making it to an in-person appointment isn't always possible due to busy schedules or distance. Telehealth therapy bridges this gap, allowing clients to receive the same quality care from the comfort of their own homes. Flexibility and Privacy Telehealth counseling brings the therapeutic conversation to clients through live video sessions. These appointments offer the flexibility to fit into busy lives and the privacy to discuss sensitive topics. Sarah Charmchi, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a cornerstone of Serenity Psychotherapy Group's telehealth counseling team states, "We recognize that many individuals face barriers to accessing traditional in-person therapy. Our telehealth services provide a convenient and effective alternative, ensuring that everyone can receive the support they need." Diverse Telehealth Options In addition to video therapy sessions, Serenity Psychotherapy Group offers other forms of telehealth therapy, including phone calls, online apps, and text-based therapy. These diverse options cater to the varying preferences and needs of their clients, making mental health support more accessible than ever before. Telehealth Technology and Regulations Serenity Psychotherapy Group has invested in secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth technology to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of their clients' information. They strictly adhere to telehealth regulations and best practices to maintain the highest standards of care in the digital health landscape. Dedicated Therapists At the heart of Serenity Psychotherapy Group's online telehealth therapy services is a team of dedicated therapists. Sarah Charmchi, with her rich educational background and holistic approach to treatment, exemplifies the expertise and commitment of their telehealth counseling team. Clients can expect compassionate, personalized care tailored to their unique needs and goals. Teletherapy Platforms and Telepsychology Serenity Psychotherapy Group leverages advanced teletherapy platforms to facilitate seamless, interactive sessions between therapists and clients. Their team of professionals is well-versed in telepsychology best practices, ensuring that the therapeutic alliance and treatment efficacy are maintained in the virtual setting. Telemedicine and Mental Health The integration of telemedicine into mental health care has proven to be a game-changer, particularly in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Serenity Psychotherapy Group recognizes the importance of adapting to the evolving healthcare landscape and is committed to providing accessible, high-quality mental health services through telehealth channels. About Serenity Psychotherapy Group Serenity Psychotherapy Group is a leading mental health provider based in Navy Yard, offering a wide range of therapy services to individuals, couples, and families. With a team of highly skilled and compassionate therapists, they are dedicated to promoting mental well-being and helping clients navigate life's challenges. Their commitment to excellence, combined with their embrace of telehealth technology, positions them as a trusted partner in the journey toward healing and personal growth. Location: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d25709401.892755475!2d-79.33083800000001!3d38.131944!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x264eab7aeb83e787%3A0xb3a16a206abd16f8!2sSerenity%20Psychotherapy%20Group%2C%20LLC!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sng!4v1729766223172!5m2!1sen!2sng Location: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z9eqgB4lS26-ahs5S6Qp19eCYSdoYC4qFH7bKoHrGPA/edit?usp=sharing Media Contact Company Name: Serenity Psychotherapy Group, LLC Contact Person: Sarah Charmchi Email: Send Email [ http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=serenity-psychotherapy-group-now-offers-telehealth-therapy-in-navy-yard ] Phone: 202-990-2707 Address:10604 Drumm Ave. City: Washington State: DC Country: United States Website: https://serenitypsychotherapygroup.com/ This release was published on openPR.
Swift's daily impact on Vancouver may have exceeded 2010 games, says industry figure VANCOUVER — Taylor Swift's three-night run at BC Place, closing out the pop star's global Eras Tour, generated daily economic impact for Vancouver that could rival the 2010 Olympics and smashed data streaming records, industry figures say. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press Dec 9, 2024 3:07 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Taylor Swift performs during the Eras Tour concert, in Vancouver on December 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER — Taylor Swift's three-night run at BC Place, closing out the pop star's global Eras Tour, generated daily economic impact for Vancouver that could rival the 2010 Olympics and smashed data streaming records, industry figures say. The CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, Ian Tostenson, said the shows that ended Sunday had an effect that went far beyond other concert or sporting events in the city. Tostenson said Monday that his group estimates there was a $25 million boost for Metro Vancouver’s establishments for each of the three show days. In comparison, a sold-out, highly anticipated Vancouver Canucks playoff game brings an estimated $3 million a day in economic impact, Tostenson said. “In the context of comparing to anything else, it’s not even believable almost — it’s such a huge impact,” Tostenson said. “I was out a little bit on Friday and Saturday, and every place I went to was absolutely lined up and packed.” Tostenson said the concerts rivalled the Olympics in drawing fans from regions far beyond what a typical playoff hockey game would, and while it is difficult to compare the 2010 Winter Games to the Taylor Swift weekend, the events were in the same magnitude in daily impact on restaurants. “The financial impact of the Olympics was massive, (but) it was spread out over a couple weeks in different venues and stuff,” he said. “So, you didn't sort of feel this concentration that you saw with Taylor Swift.” Tostenson also said Swifties bumped up business across Metro Vancouver all weekend, with one major restaurant owner with multiple locations reporting full capacity not just at its downtown location but also in North Vancouver and Olympic Village. He credits the festive mood brought by fans that had an emotional effect on people in general, which in turn has a major impact on restaurants, an industry built largely on discretionary spending. People consume more when the mood is right, he said. “From a financial point of view, the Olympics probably had a bigger impact,” Tostenson said. “But ... I'm going to venture to estimate that this, on a daily basis compared to the Olympics, was stronger.” Telecommunications giant Rogers said data used during the last show was enough to stream Swift's entire music catalogue 9,450 times. It said in a statement that fans on the company's network set a Canadian record when they used more than 11 terabytes of mobile data in just a few hours at BC Place. The company's chief technology officer Mark Kennedy said Monday that is the equivalent of uploading 307,000 photos and 2,180 hours of video streaming. The previous record was set Nov. 21, when fans at Swift's concert in Toronto used 7.4 terabytes of data on the Rogers network. Music industry publication Pollstar also said Monday that Swift's 149-show worldwide tour brought in revenue of US$2.2 billion in its 20-month run. Vancouver Police thanked residents and visitors for a "safe and memorable weekend." Const. Tania Visintin said in a social media post that police spent months preparing for the shows. "We've had so much fun meeting people of all ages from all around the world, trading friendship bracelets and showing what a great city it can really be when we all look out for one another," she said. Thirteen Swift-themed lighting installations were set up at locations around the city to celebrate the singer's arrival. Suzanne Walters, a spokeswoman for Destination Vancouver, said most of the lit-up letters will be coming down over the next few days, but the “Swiftcouver” display downtown will stay until Dec. 13 — Swift’s birthday. Walters said the letters will be reused for holiday displays over the month of December and then be part of a pool of rentable supplies. Swift told the 60,000 fans in BC Place at Sunday's show that they were part of a tour seen by 10 million people, and that it was the most thrilling chapter of her life to date. She said the legacy of the tour will be "a space of joy and togetherness and love" that the fans have created. Swiftie Alaina Robertson echoed Swift's sentiments after the show, saying she shed lots of tears watching the "once in a lifetime" spectacle. Robertson — who travelled from Camas, Wash., for the show and wore a "Reputation" inspired outfit along with a temporary silver bedazzled snake tattoo — said she doesn't think any other concert will be able to compare. "It's going to be hard to beat," she said of the show. "She's changing the world of music. She's changing entertainment entirely, and to be at the tour with the crowd here, getting to do the friendship bracelets, getting to get dressed up — it's just love and joy and friendship, and it's been really magical to be a part of it." Fan accounts on social media platform X have posted photos showing a number of television and music stars at BC Place Sunday night, including actors Jenna Fischer, Aubrey Plaza and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as well as Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. — With files from Ashley Joannou, Brieanna Charlebois and The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More Entertainment News 10 new TV shows from 2024 that are worth watching before the new year Dec 9, 2024 3:14 PM 'Looking for the Weinstein of Quebec': impresario Gilbert Rozon's civil trial begins Dec 9, 2024 2:58 PM Jay-Z says lawsuit accusing him of raping a child at awards after-party is part of an extortion ploy Dec 9, 2024 2:38 PM Featured FlyerIntel stock dropped 6% Tuesday as investors reacted to the departure of the chip maker's CEO, and Wall Street analysts seem to think the company future remains uncertain. The stock dropped in Tuesday trades to close at %22.47 per share after the company announced on Monday that CEO would be leaving the company. Intel has struggled to keep up amid a tense , losing out to chip titan and AI darling Nvidia and seeing a drag on its margins after doubling down on its foundry business. It's also lost market share in its core PC and data center offerings. The stock's most recent fall brings its year-to-date losses to 55%. Intel chair Frank Yeary said the company is committed to restoring investor confidence, but Wall Street analysts say it won't be easy. Citi analysts said the departure of Gelsinger—who pushed the strategy to make Intel into a major foundry business—could make proposals for a split between its manufacturing process and chip-design business more possible, boosting its stock. "We believe it is in the best interest of Intel shareholders if the company stops trying to be a merchant foundry and we believe the chance is higher now given Gelsinger was a champion of it," the analysts said in a Monday note. If the company is able to exit its foundry business, its gross margins and earnings per share could rise, boosting its stock price to $50-$60 per share, the analysts wrote. That's as much as a 165% gain from current prices. But others warn the company's split is unlikely, and would provide only a temporary stock boost. Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya said that separating the chipmaking and design arms would give both units "much-needed" independence, but the company's $7.9 billion award requires the stock to maintain a stake between 35%-50% or more in the foundry business. That legislation could possibly be revamped by the incoming Trump administration, but even if the company's business units were to separate, Arya maintained that both still face a tough outlook. "Both businesses are undergoing their own strategic, structural, financial, and competitive issues, with no near term solution in sight. The mgmt change could provide a near-term boost to the stock, but we maintain Underperform and $21 PO," he wrote. Other analysts say that separating the two units within Intel would only temporarily boost stock prices. "It would not solve Intel's larger issues (e.g. a lagging position vs. competitors for both chip design and production), meaning any immediate bump would seem to be onetime in nature," Wedbush Securities analysts said in a Monday note. The Citi analysts also warned that Gelsinger's knowledge of semiconductors was unmatched, leaving a big hole to fill as the board searches for a . "Now that Pat is gone, the risk increases that Intel could remain behind TSMC/AMD if the new CEO is not as well-versed in advanced semiconductor manufacturing as Pat," the analysts said, maintaining their $22 price target on the stock. Read the original article on
Giants still view Jordan Hicks as starting pitcher despite strugglesIsraeli drone strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital on Tuesday, wounding three medical staff at one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza , the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held despite Israeli forces carrying out several new drone and artillery strikes on Tuesday, killing a shepherd in the country's south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed keep striking “with an iron fist” against perceived Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas militants who are fighting in the Gaza Strip. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage . Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians , more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war in Gaza has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times . Here's the Latest: WASHINGTON — U.S. forces conducted a self-defense strike Tuesday in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a U.S. base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said presented “a clear and imminent threat” to U.S. troops. The self-defense strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired that landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder said. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — that there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area. Ryder said the attack was not connected to the offensive that is ongoing in Aleppo, where Syrian jihadi-led rebels taken over the country’s largest city. The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic Stage group. CAIRO — Israeli drone strikes hit the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday, wounding three medical personnel, the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital, located in the town of Beit Lahiya. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In comments released by Gaza’s Health Ministry, Abu Safiya said one of the injured was in critical condition and was undergoing a complex surgery. “The situation has become extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are exhausted by the ongoing violence and atrocities.” Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months as Israeli forces have waged a fierce offensive in the area, saying they are rooting out Hamas militants who regrouped there. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim. Abu Safiya was wounded in his thigh and back by an Israeli drone strike on the hospital last month. TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the stand next week in his long-running corruption trial, ending a long series of delays. Netanyahu’s lawyers had filed multiple requests to put off the testimony, arguing first that the war in Gaza prevented him from properly preparing for his testimony, and later that his security could not be guaranteed in the court chamber. In Tuesday’s decision, judges in the Jerusalem district court said that following a security assessment, his testimony will be moved to the Tel Aviv district court. Israeli media said the session would take place in an underground chamber. His testimony in the trial, which began in 2020, is expected to begin on Dec. 10 and to last at least several weeks. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing. NABATIYEH, Lebanon — In destroyed areas of southern Lebanon, residents clearing away rubble on Tuesday said they didn’t trust Israel to abide by the week-old ceasefire with Hezbollah. “The Israelis are breaching the ceasefire whenever they can because they are not committed,” said Hussein Badreddin, a vegetable seller in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, which was pummeled by Israeli airstrikes over several weeks. “This means that they (can) breach any resolution at any time.” Since it began last Wednesday, the U.S.- and French-brokered 60-day ceasefire has been rattled by near daily Israeli strikes, although Israel has been vague about the purported Hezbollah violations that prompted them. Imad Yassin, a trader who owns a clothing shop in Nabatiyeh, said Israel was constantly breaching the ceasefire because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the displacement of residents of southern Lebanon. “The Israeli enemy was defeated and the truth is that he is trying to get revenge. Netanyahu is trying to displace us as citizens of southern Lebanon,” Yassin said. They spoke as bulldozers cleared streets strewn with rubble and debris from destroyed buildings. Electricians worked to fix power lines in an effort to restore electricity to the city. Both men were displaced by the war and returned to Nabatiyeh on Wednesday, the day the ceasefire went into effect. Yassin found his clothing shop had been destroyed. He said he would wait to see if the state will dispense compensation funds so that he can repair and reopen his business. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine people in Gaza City on Tuesday, Palestinian medical authorities said. Six people, including two children, who were killed when an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced people Tuesday afternoon in the Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency services. A second strike hit a residential building in the Sabra neighborhood, killing at least three people, the services said. Israeli forces have almost completely isolated northernmost Gaza since early October, saying they’re fighting regrouped Hamas militants there. That has pushed some families south to Gaza City, while hundreds of thousands more live in the territory's center and south in squalid tent camps, where they rely on international aid. JERUSALEM — Israel's military confirmed it killed a senior member of Hezbollah responsible for coordinating with Syria's army on rearming and resupplying the Lebanese militant group. Syrian state media said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a car in a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing one person, without saying who was killed. Israel's military said he was Salman Nemer Jomaa, describing him as “Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military,” and that killing him “degrades both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building efforts.” Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups. Iran supports both Hezbollah and the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, which is currently fighting to push back jihadi-led insurgents who seized the country’s largest city of Aleppo . TUBAS, West Bank — Israeli soldiers opened fire inside a hospital in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday during a raid to seize the bodies of alleged militants targeted in earlier airstrikes, a Palestinian doctor working at the hospital told The Associated Press. Soldiers entered the Turkish Hospital complex in Tubas after the bodies of two Palestinians killed and one wounded in airstrikes in the northern West Bank on Tuesday were brought there, said Dr. Mahmoud Ghanam, who works in the hospital’s emergency department. The troops briefly handcuffed and arrested Ghanam and another doctor. “The army entered in a brutal way, and they were shooting inside the emergency department,” said Ghanam. “They handcuffed us and took me and my colleague.” The military confirmed that its troops were operating around the hospital searching for those targeted in the airstrikes, which they said had hit a militant cell near the Palestinian town of Al-Aqaba in the Jordan Valley. It denied that troops had entered the hospital building or fired gunshots inside. The soldiers left after learning that the wounded man had been transferred to another hospital, Ghanam said. The soldiers wanted to take the bodies of the two men killed in the strike, but the hospital’s manager refused to hand over the bodies, Ghanam said. Israeli raids on hospitals in the West Bank are rare but have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In Gaza, Israeli troops have systematically besieged, raided and damaged many hospitals. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis — attacks which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three territories for an independent state. CAIRO — Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war . It would effectively end Hamas’ rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel. The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority . A Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from Gaza. It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. A Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza , with civilian affairs administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military. The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed. NUSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Palestinians lined up for bags of flour distributed by the U.N. in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, some of them for the first time in months amid a drop in food aid entering the territory. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, gave out one 25-kilogram flour bag (55 pounds) to each family of 10 at a warehouse in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as well as further south in the city of Khan Younis. Jalal al-Shaer, among the dozens receiving flour at the Nuseirat warehouse, said the bag would last his family of 12 for only two or three days. “The situation for us is very difficult,” said another man in line, Hammad Moawad. “There is no flour, there is no food, prices are high ... We eat bread crumbs.” He said his family hadn’t received a flour allotment in five or six months. COGAT, the Israeli army body in charge of humanitarian affairs, said it facilitated entry of a shipment of 600 tons of flour on Sunday for the World Food Program. Still, the amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza since the beginning of October has been at nearly the lowest levels of the 15-month-old war. UNRWA’s senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge told The Associated Press that the flour bags being distributed Tuesday were not enough. “People are getting one bag of flour between an entire family and there is no certainty when they’ll receive the next food,” she said. Wateridge added that UNRWA has been struggling like other humanitarian agencies to provide much needed supplies across the Gaza Strip. The agency this week announced it was stopping delivering aid entering through the main crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, because its convoys were being robbed by gangs. UNRWA has blamed Israel in large part for the spread of lawlessness in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over accusations of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel rejects the allegations and says it has been working hard to improve entry of aid. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war isn't over against Hezbollah and vowed to use "an iron fist" against the Lebanese militant group for any perceived violations of a week-old ceasefire. “At the moment we are in a ceasefire, I note — a ceasefire, not the end of the war," Netanyahu said at the start of the government meeting Tuesday. He said the military would retaliate for “any violation — minor or major.” Netanyahu also thanked U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for his recent demands for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. Trump posted on social media Monday that if the hostages are not freed before he takes office in January there would be “HELL TO PAY.” Netanyahu convened Tuesday's meeting in northern Israel, where around 45,000 Israelis had been displaced by the war as of last week, according to the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu said the government was focused on getting them back in their homes and rehabilitating the area. BERLIN — German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the militant organization in Germany. Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in the Hannover region on Tuesday. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence. Prosecutors said he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the militants. According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at a mosque. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000. BEIRUT — The Lebanese army is looking for more recruits as it beefs up its presence in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Lebanon’s army is a respected national institution that kept to the sidelines during the nearly 14-month conflict. During an initial 60-day truce, thousands of Lebanese troops are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon, where U.N. peacekeepers also have a presence. Hezbollah militants are to pull back from areas near the border as Israel withdraws its ground forces. The army said those interested in joining up have a one-month period to apply, starting Tuesday. The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, with around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s state news agency says a drone strike hit a car in a suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one person. The agency did not give further details or say who was killed. It said the attack occurred Tuesday on the road leading to the Damascus International Airport south of the city. The area is known to be home to members of Iran-backed militant groups. Israel is believed to have carried out a number of strikes in the area in recent months as it has battled Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge such strikes. JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister warned that if the shaky ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, Israel will widen its strikes and target the Lebanese state itself. He spoke the day after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes that killed nearly a dozen people. Those strikes came after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were previous Israeli violations. Speaking to troops on the northern border Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said any violations of the agreement would be met with “a maximum response and zero tolerance.” He said if the war resumes, Israel will widen its strikes beyond the areas where Hezbollah’s activities are concentrated, and “there will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon.” During the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which came to an end last week with a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France, Israel largely refrained from striking critical infrastructure or the Lebanese armed forces, who kept to the sidelines . When Israeli strikes killed or wounded Lebanese soldiers, the Israeli military said it was accidental . The ceasefire agreement that took effect last week gives 60 days for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and for Hezbollah militants to relocate north of the Litani River. The buffer zone is to be patrolled by Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers. Israel has carried out multiple strikes in recent days in response to what it says are violations by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes near the border and violating Lebanon’s airspace. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, had helped mediate the ceasefire. JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike in the northern West Bank has killed two Palestinians. Israel’s military said it struck a militant cell near the town of Al-Aqaba, in the Jordan Valley. It did not immediately give more details. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the two deaths and said a third person was moderately wounded. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis, which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for an independent state. BEIRUT — Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon made his first public appearance in Beirut since he was wounded in an attack involving exploding pagers in mid-September. Mojtaba Amani, who returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing treatment in Iran, visited on Tuesday the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27. Speaking about the airstrike that destroyed six buildings and killed Nasrallah and others, Amani said Israel should get for its act “the highest medal for sabotage, terrorism, blood and killing civilians.” Amani suffered serious injuries in his face and hands when a pager he was holding exploded in mid-September. The device was one of about 3,000 pagers that exploded simultaneously, killing and wounding many Hezbollah members. A day after the pager attack, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, many of them civilians. Last month, a spokesperson for the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pager attack was approved by Netanyahu.
