Middle East & North Africa

TEL AVIV, November 22. /TASS/: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has introduced a four-hour ceasefire in Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Wednesday.

"Today, exactly between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. local time [between 9:00 and 13:00 GMT], we will take a tactical pause in combat actions in the Jourat al-Lot and Batn al-Sameen neighborhoods of Khan Yunis in pursue of humanitarian goals," Adraee stated on his page on the X social network (formerly Twitter).

ISTANBUL, November 22. /TASS/: The Western countries that have taken Israel’s side in its conflict with Palestine should refrain from participating in its crimes, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Before it’s too late, the governments of the countries that have sided with Israel should move to the side of international law, human rights, conscience and morality, and refrain from participating in these crimes. We need to side with those oppressed and save them from the steps that oppressors are taking," the Turkish leader told reporters upon return from Algeria.

BEIRUT, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Tuesday condemned the targeting of journalists and civilians in a recent Israeli strike on southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in a statement that the UNIFIL was shocked and saddened to learn that a group of journalists was hit in south Lebanon, while extending condolences to the families and friends of those killed near Tayr Harfa.

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 14,000 since the current Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, the Hamas-run government media office said Tuesday.

Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the media office, said at a press conference that among the dead were 5,840 children and 3,920 women, while more than 33,000 others were injured.

Al-Thawabta said the number of missing persons has surpassed 6,800, including 4,500 children and women under the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli attacks.

BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed two journalists who were reporting for a Beirut-based TV station on military activity along the border with Israel, according to Lebanese officials and the broadcaster. A separate strike killed four militants with the Palestinian group Hamas, officials said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Qatar on Wednesday announced a truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas that would bring a four-day halt in fighting in a devastating six-week war, win freedom for dozens of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and also lead to the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Hamas official said on Tuesday that the movement is close to reaching a cease-fire agreement with Israel in the coming hours, which will be announced in Qatar.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the movement had already sent its response to mediators on the cease-fire agreement, and it was waiting for Israel's response.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The helicopter-borne Houthi attack on an Israel-linked ship in the Red Sea highlights the danger now lurking in one of the world’s key shipping routes as the Israel-Hamas war rages, as well as the rebels’ tactics mirroring those of its chief sponsor, Iran.

ASHKELON, Israel (AP) — Tatyana Prima thought she’d left the bombs behind when she fled Ukraine more than a year and a half ago, after Russia decimated her city, Mariupol. The 38-year-old escaped with her injured husband and young daughter, bringing the family to safety in southern Israel.

The calm she was slowly regaining shattered again on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants invaded.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops battled Palestinian militants in an urban refugee camp and outside a nearby hospital Tuesday as the army expanded operations across northern Gaza, where residents have been without electricity or reliable access to water, food and other basics for weeks.