Seven Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when their armored vehicle was struck by an explosive, an Israeli military official said Wednesday.
The announcement comes a day after witnesses and hospitals in Gaza said Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44.
Meanwhile, people in Iran began returning to their lives as a ceasefire with Israel, negotiated by President Donald Trump, appeared to be holding. State media described heavy traffic around the Caspian Sea area and other rural areas outside of the capital, Tehran, as people began returning to the city.
The Iran-Israel conflict lasted 12 days with , saying it could not allow Tehran to develop atomic weapons. On Sunday, the by dropping bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran has long maintained that is peaceful.
Here is the latest:
China hopes for 鈥榣asting and effective鈥 ceasefire
China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and close Iranian partner, says it hopes a 鈥渓asting and effective ceasefire can be achieved so as to promote the realization of peace and stability in the Middle East.鈥
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun added Wednesday that China was 鈥渨illing to maintain friendly cooperation with Iran to benefit the two peoples and inject positive factors to safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East.鈥
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and has long supported the regime politically, blaming Israel for starting the latest conflict and destabilizing the region.
Iranian Parliament takes step toward ending cooperation with IAEA
Iran鈥檚 Parliament voted nearly unanimously Wednesday to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country鈥檚 cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to Iranian state TV.
The move comes a day after a ceasefire deal took hold between Iran and Israel following a destructive 12-day war.
If successful, the legislation would make any external oversight of the country鈥檚 nuclear program much more difficult.
Yesterday, Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Arab media that it was too early to determine whether his government will continue working with the U.N.鈥檚 nuclear watchdog, saying that the IAEA treaty 鈥渇ailed to protect our rights and our facilities.鈥
While Iran鈥檚 Parliament has the ability to pass legislation, the final decision on any security-related matter would ultimately come from Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israeli forces kill a Palestinian woman in east Jerusalem, official says
An local Palestinian official says Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman in east Jerusalem Tuesday night.
Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Zahia Obeidi with a shot to the head around 10pm and seizing her body, said Marouf Al-Refai, a Palestinian Authority official.
Israeli forces arrested her husband and sons later that night, Refai said. It was not clear by morning whether they had been released.
Israeli police said they were investigating her death, saying she arrived at the Shuafat checkpoint with 鈥減enetrating鈥 injuries and was pronounced dead by paramedics on scene.
7 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
Israel鈥檚 military said Wednesday that seven soldiers had been killed the day before inside Gaza.
A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said that the seven were killed around 5pm when an explosive affixed to their armored vehicle in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis detonated.
The military said another soldier was badly wounded Tuesday from RPG fire.
The incident was an unusually deadly one for Israel鈥檚 troops operating inside Gaza.
The military says over 860 soldiers have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack 鈥 including more than 400 during fighting inside Gaza.
鈥斺赌
By Julia Frankel in Jerusalem
Hamas claims attack on Israeli soldiers
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas鈥 military wing, said on its Telegram channel Tuesday it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some of the soldiers were killed and other injured after they were targeted by a Yassin 105 missile and another missile south of Khan Younis, Hamas said.
Al-Qassam fighters then targeted the building with machine guns.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the Israeli military's announcement that seven of its soldiers were killed Tuesday in Gaza.
Iran executes more prisoners
Iran executed three more prisoners Wednesday over allegedly spying for Israel, its state-run IRNA news agency reported, the latest hangings connected to its war with Israel.
Iran identified the three men executed Wednesday as Azad Shojaei, Edris Aali and Iraqi national Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul.
Iran is one of the world鈥檚 top executioners. After the brutal 1980s Iran-Iraq war, Iran carried out the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners and others, raising concerns among activists about a similar wave coming after the war with Israel.
The hangings happened in Urmia Prison in Iran鈥檚 West Azerbaijan province, which is the country鈥檚 most northwestern province.
IRNA cited Iran鈥檚 judiciary for the news, saying the men had been accused of bringing 鈥渁ssassination equipment鈥 into the country.
Wednesday鈥檚 executions bring the total number of hangings for espionage around the war up to six.
Israeli strikes killed more than 1,000 in Iran, group says
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 1,054 people and wounded 4,476 others, according to figures released Wednesday by the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, said of those killed, it identified 417 civilians and 318 security force personnel.
Iran鈥檚 government provided sporadic casualty information throughout the war. Its latest update on Tuesday put the death toll at 606 people killed, with 5,332 others being injured.
In Israel, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war.
