Israel Strikes Two Armed Men Who Approached Troops in Gaza, Killing One, IDF Says

These are Saturday's key updates on Israel, Gaza and the West Bank:
■ Eight countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, warned against Israel partially opening Gaza's crossing to Egypt.
■ Canada removed Syria from its list of foreign state supporters of terrorism and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from its list of terrorist groups.
■ U.S. President Donald Trump will name members of two Gaza authorities under his peace plan during Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit this month, AP reported.
An international body tasked with governing the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the U.S.-brokered cease-fire is expected to be announced by the end of the year, an Arab official and a Western diplomat said Friday.
According to the cease-fire agreement, the authority — known as the Board of Peace and chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump — is to oversee Gaza's reconstruction under a two-year, renewable UN mandate.
It will include about a dozen other Middle Eastern and Western leaders, the Arab official and the Western diplomat told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Also to be announced is a committee of Palestinian technocrats who will run the day-to-day administration of post-war Gaza, the two said. The Western diplomat, who spoke to the AP over the phone from Cairo, said the announcement will likely take place when Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet later this month.
The Canadian government said on Friday that it has removed Syria from its list of foreign state supporters of terrorism and removed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that spearheaded the rebel alliance that helped oust President Bashar Assad, from its list of terrorist entities.
"These measures are in line with recent decisions taken by our allies, including the United Kingdom and the United States, and follows the efforts by the Syrian transitional government to advance Syria's stability, build an inclusive and secure future for its citizens and work alongside global partners to reinforce regional stability and counter terrorism," the Canadian government said in a statement.
#Statement | The Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Türkiye, and the State of Qatar express their
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Eight countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, jointly condemned "statements concerning the opening of the Rafah Crossing in one direction."
The statement on the Saudi Foreign Ministry's X account warned of Israeli policies meant to encourage Palestinian population transfer into Egypt through the Israeli-controlled Egypt-Gaza crossing, and called to adhere to the U.S. cease-fire plan.
Israel announced Wednesday that the crossing would reopen in the coming days, solely to allow Gaza residents to exit into Egypt. Israeli officials said entry into Gaza could be permitted later, if the remains of hostages return to Israel.
The crossing was supposed to open as part of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but it has remained closed in what Israel describes as a response to delays in returning deceased hostages.
Trump's plan stated that the crossing would operate under "the same mechanism used during the January 2025 cease-fire," when the Gaza side of the crossing was controlled by Palestinian Authority forces and a European Union contingent.
At the entrance of what was once Gaza's largest and most critical medical complex, a message was scrawled in Arabic and English across a concrete wall: "Promise we will rebuild it."
The graffiti was painted over as part of an effort by humanitarian organizations, foreign governments and everyday people working together to rehabilitate Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital for more than a year.
Yet when videos circulated online in the last week showing newly painted walls and repaired hallways at Al-Shifa, controversy erupted. In posts that received millions of views, pro-Israel social media influencers falsely claimed that the images were "proof" that Gaza's hospitals had never been bombed by Israeli airstrikes.
The World Health Organization and Arabic-language media outlets reported that renovation at Al-Shifa Hospital appeared to have begun in early 2024, with footage showing scaffolding on parts of the surviving structures – despite ongoing Israeli military operations at that time.
These are Friday's key updates on Israel, Gaza and the West Bank:
■ A Palestinian man was killed by IDF fire as he left a mosque in the West Bank village of Udala, south of Nablus, according to reports by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
■ The Israeli Air Force attacked two men who approached troops in northern Gaza, killing one, according to an IDF statement.
■ Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that cease-fire talks with Israel are primarily aimed at stopping Israeli hostilities on Lebanese territory. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem criticised the decision, calling it a "free concession" to Israel.
■ IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir called for the establishment of an "external and objective" investigative committee into October 7, but stopped short of using the words "state commission of inquiry."
■ Haifa's municipality has relocated anti-government rallies from its city center to a remote alternative, which organizers rejected as "isolated and irrelevant."
■ The Israeli cabinet approved the 2026 budget, with a 112 billion-shekel ($34.7 billion) defense allocation; the Finance Ministry will draft it into a bill for Knesset approval by mid-January.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz officially announced a visit to Jordan and Israel on Saturday to advance humanitarian aid, regional security, and the UN Security Council resolution and President Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza, according to a statement by his office.
In Jordan, Waltz will meet King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to discuss bilateral cooperation and Jordan's role in facilitating aid to Gaza. He will also meet with humanitarian organizations to assess ongoing relief efforts and explore collaboration on regional security and the Syrian refugee crisis.
In Israel, Waltz will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, tour the northern and southern borders, visit the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Coordination and Monitoring Mechanism center in Kiryat Gat, and meet UN Middle East Peace Process representatives and aid groups to review Gaza assistance.
Following an attack on September 18 by a Jordanian truck driver transporting aid to Gaza, which killed two Israeli soldiers at the Allenby crossing, Israeli authorities closed the crossing to aid deliveries. The crossing is a key route for humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and international organizations have urged Israel to reopen it. In late September – before the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas – the European Union formally requested that Israel allow aid shipments to resume, noting that approximately a quarter of UN humanitarian aid to Gaza passes through this crossing.