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Israeli central bank Governor Amir Yaron is set for another five-year term after finally winning the backing of

Provides an overview of Luxembourg, including key dates and facts about this west European country.

Heavy fighting erupted Monday around a hospital in northern Gaza where thousands of patients and displaced people have been sheltering for weeks, as Israeli forces focus on clearing out medical facilities that they say Hamas militants use for cover. The advance on the Indonesian Hospital came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the territory's largest, where they were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound. The plight of Gaza's hospitals is at the focus of a battle of narratives over the war's brutal toll on Palestinian civilians, thousands of whom have been killed or buried in rubble since the six-week-old war was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel. Israel says Hamas uses civilians as human shields, while critics say Israel's siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians. Marwan Abdallah, a medical worker at the Indonesian Hospital, said Israeli tanks were visible from the windows. “You can see them moving around and firing,” he said. “Women and children are terrified. There are constant sounds of explosions and gunfire.” Al-Jazeera television aired footage apparently shot from inside the hospital showing tanks firing just outside the facility. Abdallah said the hospital had received dozens of dead and wounded in airstrikes and shelling overnight. He said medical staff and displaced people fear Israel will besiege the hospital and force its evacuation. The Israeli military, which rarely publicizes troop movements, had no immediate comment. BABIES EVACUATED U.N. bodies were able to safely evacuate the babies, who were in critical condition, from Shifa to a hospital in southern Gaza, and plan to transport them to a hospital in neighboring Egypt. Four other babies died in the two days before the evacuation, according to Mohamed Zaqout, the director of Gaza hospitals. Over 250 patients with severely infected wounds and other urgent conditions remain in Shifa, which could no longer provide most treatment after it ran out of water, medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide blackout. Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants outside its gates for days before entering the facility last Wednesday. Israel’s army said it had strong evidence supporting its claims that Hamas maintained a sprawling command post inside and under the hospital’s 20-acre complex, which includes several buildings, garages and a plaza. The military released a video showing what it said was a tunnel discovered at the hospital, 55-meter (60-yard) long and about 10 meters (33 feet) below ground. It said the tunnel included a staircase and a firing hole that could be used by gunmen, and ended at a blast-proof door that troops have not yet opened. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify Israel’s findings, which included security camera video showing what the military said were two foreign hostages, one Thai and one Nepalese, who were captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack and taken to the hospital. The army also said an investigation had determined that Israeli army Cpl. Noa Marciano, another captive whose body was recovered in Gaza, had been injured in an Israeli strike on Nov. 9 that killed her captor, but was then killed by a Hamas militant in Shifa. Hamas and hospital staff have denied the allegations of a command post under Shifa. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismissed the latest announcement, saying “the Israelis said there was a command and control center, which means that the matter is greater than just a tunnel." THREE IN FOUR PEOPLE DISPLACED Israel has repeatedly ordered Palestinians to leave northern Gaza and seek refuge in the south, which has also been under aerial bombardment since the start of the war. Some 1.7 million people, nearly three quarters of Gaza’s population, have been displaced, with 900,000 packing into crowded U.N.-run shelters, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Their misery has worsened in recent days because of cold winds and driving rain. More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried in rubble. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, and Israel says it has killed thousands of militants. About 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians during the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas dragged some 240 captives back into Gaza. The military says 63 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two were found near Shifa. Israel, the United States and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating a much larger hostage release for weeks. Israel's three-member war cabinet is to meet with representatives of the hostages’ families on Monday evening. YEMEN REBELS SEIZE SHIP Yemen's Houthi rebels seized a Israeli-linked cargo ship in the southern Red Sea and took its 25 crew members hostage Sunday, raising fears that regional tensions heightened by the war were spilling into the seas. The Iran-backed rebel group said it would continue to target ships connected to Israel. No Israelis were aboard the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, which was operated by a Japanese company with crewmembers from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico. Public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, a company founded by Abraham Ungar, who is known as one of the richest people in Israel. Ungar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time. The Galaxy Leader was taken to Yemen's port city of Hodeida, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Japanese officials were negotiating with the rebels for the release of the ship and its crew, said Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed. ___ Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war. Read More US Defense Secretary Austin makes unannounced visit to Ukraine Live view of Israel-Gaza border amid hope ‘hostages could be freed’ With the world's eyes on Gaza, attacks are on the rise in the West Bank, which faces its own war Israel claims CCTV shows Hamas taking hostages into Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital David Lammy visits Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories French performers lead a silent Paris march for peace between Israelis and Palestinians

Israeli forces engaged in heavy fighting with Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip overnight as the US said

Conservative lawmakers have invoked national security concerns as they push the government to scrutinize the UAE’s support of

Ukrainian forces say they have pushed Russian troops three to eight kilometeres back on the banks of the key Dnipro River. If confirmed, it would be the first meaningful advance by Kyiv’s forces months into a relatively slow counteroffensive. “Preliminary figures vary from three to eight kilometres, depending on the specifics, geography and landscape design of the left bank,” army spokeswoman Natalia Gumenyuk told Ukrainian television, without specifying whether Ukraine’s military had complete control of the area or if the Russians had retreated. Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the vast waterway in the southern Kherson region for more than a year, after Russia withdrew its troops from the western bank last November. Ukrainian forces have staged multiple attempts to cross and hold positions on the Russian-controlled side - with officials in Kyiv finally reporting a “successful” breakthrough last week. After securing multiple footholds on the eastern bank, the Ukrainian military claimed to have repelled 12 attacks over the weekend. Mr Putin has lost around a brigade’s worth of forces there in a month, claims Kyiv. Read More Russian drones target Kyiv as UK Defense Ministry says little chance of front-line change An orphaned teenager who was taken to Russia early in the Ukraine war is back home with relatives Russia’s plan B in Ukraine is working – now is not the moment for the West to turn away

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said last week’s ruling by Germany’s top court curbing the use of off-budget

Russia and Ukraine sent drones targeting each other’s capital cities over the weekend in signs of renewed intensity for their aerial warfare. Drones were shot down on both Saturday and Sunday in areas around Kyiv and Moscow. Air defence systems for both sides intercepted attacks and no casualties were reported. Multiple drones that were heading for Moscow and Russia’s border areas on Sunday were downed by Russian air defence systems over the weekend, officials said. Kyiv has promised to wage a major drone campaign against Russia this winter, as bad weather conditions make it difficult to conduct operations on the ground. Russian air defence units in Moscow intercepted a drone targeting the Russian capital, mayor Sergei Sobhyanin said on Telegram. He said defence units in the Elektrostal district in the capital’s east intercepted the drone. Falling debris resulting from the operation had caused no damage or casualties, the mayor said, citing preliminary information. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed the drone strike on Sunday night, as is typical describing the Ukrainian military operation as a “terrorist attack”. “On 19 November at 23.20 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] on targets in Moscow and the Moscow region was stopped,” it said on its official Telegram channel. “Duty air defence systems intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of the Moscow region.” A second drone targeting Moscow was also intercepted by Russia’s air defence systems at around 1am. The UAV was destroyed over the territory of the Bogorodsky district in Moscow, it said. This comes after Russian authorities on Saturday said they shot down a Ukrainian drone heading for the border region of Bryansk. The defence ministry said on-duty air defence systems destroyed the drone over Bryansk. It did not mention any casualties or damage from the attack. Russia has also begun targeting Kyiv again after a 52-day break in air raid sirens for the Ukrainian capital. On Saturday, Ukrainian officials said all drones heading towards Kyiv were destroyed but some hit infrastructure facilities elsewhere in Ukraine. A day later, a wave of Iranian-made Shahed drones from Russia targeted Kyiv overnight. The drones targeted the Ukrainian capital and the Cherkasy and Poltava regions, according to a military statement. Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems shot down 15 of 20 drones targeting the areas. Serhii Popko, the city’s military administration spokesperson, said the drones attacked Kyiv from different directions in waves that were “constantly changing vectors”. Ukrainian officials had warned Russia would step up aerial assaults during the winter months. Meanwhile, the British defence ministry said there were “few immediate prospects” for major change along the Ukrainian frontline as the war enters its second winter. In a statement, it said intense fighting was concentrated near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, Avdiivka in Dontesk and on the left bank of the Dnipro river, where Ukrainian forces have established a bridgehead. Read More Russia ‘pushed miles back’ after major Kyiv breakthrough on Dnipro River – live New Rwanda treaty seems unlikely to be ratified before new year An orphaned teenager who was taken to Russia early in the Ukraine war is back home with relatives Trump reshares Melania’s response to ‘golden shower’ claims K-12 schools improve protection against online attacks, but many are vulnerable to ransomware gangs Hunt backs Sunak to solve ‘fearsomely complex’ challenges on Rwanda asylum plan

The UK is likely to sell fewer bonds than initially planned this fiscal year after higher tax revenues

Experts have revealed the likely eruption site of a volcano in Iceland, as authorities warn evacuees they may not return home for months. Iceland has seen more than 1,700 earthquakes in the last 24 hours, according to the country’s Met Office, with most of the activity north of Hagafell. The forecaster said magmatic gas has been detected at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano over the coming days. “Hagafell is thought to be a prime location for an eruption,” the forecaster said. The likely eruption site is near the town of Grindavik, which was evacuated last Saturday due to a string of earthquakes shaking residents and their homes. The fishing town has been the most affected area in Iceland, as the magma tunnel snakes beneath the ground leaving huge cracks in roads. While the eruption is most likely to happen in Hagafell, there is a possibility that it could happen anywhere along the magma tunnel. Although seismic activity has decreased, magma is still moving 3-4cm each day and ground deformation is continuing according to GPS data and satellite imagery. The head of the volcanic activity department at the Icelandic Met Office said the situation has not developed much in recent days. Kristín Jónsdóttir noted that while the magma intrusion is still deepening and widening, it is doing so at a slower rate. She said that a decrease in seismic activity indicates that magma has reached very high up in the earth’s crust and does not now need much for it to reach the surface. At a Civil Defence briefing on Saturday, director Víðir Reynisson said there is significant damage to houses and pipes in the area. He said: “This plus uncertainty about earthquakes means that residents have to prepare to live elsewhere in the coming months.” Locals have been permitted to briefly enter their homes for five minutes this week to collect their valuables and pets but need prior authorisation. Mayor of Grindavik Fannar Jónasson said that it will take “days and weeks” to resolve housing issues as a result of the evacuations. He said 1,200 families from the town need more permanent shelter. “I think the nation has done very well, considering the response and the aid we have received,” he said. “A lot has happened in this one week. I know that there is a lot of impatience and a call from the residents to go faster, but everyone is doing their best and it will take days and weeks to resolve issues.” Grindavik, a town of 3,400, sits on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik and not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s main facility for international flights. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal resort, one of Iceland’s top tourist attractions, has been shut at least until the end of November because of the volcano danger. A volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted three times since 2021, after being dormant for 800 years. Previous eruptions occurred in remote valleys without causing damage. Scientists say a new eruption would likely produce lava but not an ash cloud. Read More Iceland officials reveal where volcano will likely erupt Torrential rain warnings issued for weekend as Met Office gives update on snow More rain for southern England and south Wales following Storm Debi Storms batter southern England as flooding causes travel disruption Thunderstorm warning in effect as downpours continue in parts of UK Storm Debi: London weather warning extended as Met Office warns of lightning damage

A Japanese-chartered vessel seized in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels is raising fears that the Israel-Hamas

Oil steadied after a two-day swing as investors looked ahead to an OPEC+ meeting on supply that will