GAZA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) - An Israeli drone strike near Gaza City's al-Batsh cemetery killed four Palestinians and wounded three others, medical officials said, in an area where the body of Israeli soldier Ran Gvili was recently recovered.The strike targeted a group of people in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of the city. The medical officials added that three others were injured in the attack.Although the neighborhood lies outside Israel's main military deployment zone, residents reported days of heavy shelling and gunfire linked to ongoing Israeli search operations.The incident comes amid rising casualties since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025. Gaza health authorities report that Israeli fire has killed 488 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,300 in the months following the truce.The Gaza health authorities also issued a warning Tuesday over the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing, which they say is pushing the enclave's healthcare system toward collapse.Officials said 20,000 patients with medical referrals are trapped in Gaza, unable to travel abroad for treatment, including 4,000 cancer patients and 4,500 children. Since the crossing came under Israeli control in May 2024, at least 1,268 patients have died while awaiting permission to leave, according to the health authorities' records.The continued closure is exacerbating health conditions to dangerous levels, the authorities said, noting that only 3,100 patients have been allowed to leave in nearly two years.On Sunday, Israel announced it would allow a limited reopening of the crossing for individuals under its full control, but humanitarian groups said the restrictions still amount to a death sentence for patients with critical illnesses.

BAKU, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijani authorities have thwarted a terrorist plot targeting a foreign embassy and arrested three suspects with alleged ties to the Islamic State, the State Security Service announced Tuesday.The three Azerbaijani nationals were detained while approaching the diplomatic mission with items intended to be used as weapons, according to the statement.A court has ruled to place all three individuals in pretrial detention as the investigation continues.The State Security Service did not disclose which country's embassy was targeted. Operational and investigative measures in the case remain ongoing, authorities said.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airstrikes killed three people in southern Lebanon between Monday night and Tuesday, Lebanese officials said.Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone struck a motorcycle on Tuesday in the town of Batoulieh in the Tyre district, killing one person. Earlier, another drone hit a car overnight near Kfar Rumman in the Nabatieh district, killing two.The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed the deaths in the separate strikes, and a security source identified the victims as members of Hezbollah.Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it attacked on Tuesday a target in Deir Qanoun in the Tyre district, which is near Batoulieh, claiming it was a response to alleged Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire, without providing further details.In a separate statement, the IDF also said its strikes on Monday killed three Hezbollah operatives, including a former presenter at a Hezbollah-affiliated television station.Hezbollah has not responded to the reports.A U.S.- and French-brokered truce that took effect on Nov. 27, 2024, ended over a year of cross-border fighting. However, Israel has continued strikes against immediate threats, and its forces remain in several strategic positions along the border.

BAGHDAD, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's parliament on Tuesday postponed a key session to elect the country's next president after the two main Kurdish parties failed to reach an agreement.Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi said the session was delayed following formal requests from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for more time to negotiate, according to a parliamentary statement. He told lawmakers a new date would be announced soon and stressed that parliament will not violate the constitutional timelines.Under the Iraqi constitution, a new president must be elected by a two-thirds majority of the 329-member parliament, a high threshold that usually requires broad cross-sectarian support and often leads to lengthy negotiations.The constitution requires parliament to elect a president within 30 days of choosing the speaker. The president then has 15 days to assign the largest parliamentary bloc's nominee to form a cabinet, which must win a vote of confidence within 30 days. Halbousi was elected speaker on Dec. 29, 2025.On Saturday, Iraq's Shiite Coordination Framework, the largest parliamentary bloc, officially nominated former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for a third term to lead the next government.Under Iraq's post-2003 ethno-sectarian power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Kurd, the speaker's post for a Sunni Muslim, and the prime minister's office for a Shiite Muslim.

TEHRAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Tehran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Italy's ambassador to Tehran over irresponsible remarks by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani about Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).Ambassador Paola Amadei was called in by Alireza Yousefi, director general for Western Europe at the ministry, a day after Tajani said on X that Italy would ask EU partners to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, accusing it of using violence during recent protests, according to Tehran.Yousefi condemned Tajani's remarks, emphasizing the IRGC's legal status as part of Iran's armed forces and warning of the destructive consequences of such labeling. Amadei said she would relay Iran's protest to her government.Protests over the sharp depreciation of the rial have swept Iranian cities since late December. Initially peaceful, the demonstrations escalated into clashes that caused casualties and damaged public property, including mosques, government buildings, and banks. Tehran has blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel.

DAMASCUS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Recent escalation in northeastern Syria has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, with the number of displaced in Hasakah province jumping from about 5,700 to more than 146,000 in just one week, the United Nations said on Tuesday.The displacement followed reported ceasefire violations that have raised fears of renewed fighting between Syria's interim authority and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.Citing an International Organization for Migration (IOM) report, OCHA said families were fleeing mainly to Raqqa and Deir al-Zour, with most sheltering in overcrowded collective sites.Conditions are dire, the agency said, with nearly all those displaced in need of urgent cash assistance and basic supplies. More than 60 percent require food, while almost half lack access to essential health care and medicines.The IOM said a ceasefire in Aleppo province announced on Jan. 18 has largely held, allowing about 81 percent of people displaced by earlier fighting to return home. At the height of the clashes in early January, around 138,000 people had fled.Many returnees still face serious risks, including unexploded ordnance and damaged infrastructure, and continue to need food and financial aid, the agency said. The IOM called for sustained humanitarian access, warning that limited basic services and shifting security conditions continue to endanger lives across the region.In mid-January 2026, pro-Damascus forces launched a major offensive, seizing several neighbourhoods in Aleppo and advancing into Raqqa and Deir al-Zour. A Jan. 18 agreement called for the SDF to integrate into a unified national army, but ceasefire violations have been frequent, particularly in Hasakah province.

Four people were killed and six others injured in a fire early Tuesday at a hostel in the city of Balashikha, the Moscow region, said local authorities.According to the Moscow regional investigative committee, the blaze occurred in a privately owned three-story building, originating from the second