Houthi rebels in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, following several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed responsibility for a series of airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday it claimed were targeting Houthi military infrastructure.

Israel and Hamas on Wednesday accused each other of obstructing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel withdrew its negotiators from the talks the previous day. Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the refusal by the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas to hand over a list of the names of the hostages it still holds is hindering progress in the negotiations.

JERUSALEM: The Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday (Dec 25) over failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.

The United States said it struck targets in Yemen's rebel-held capital in December, hours after a Huthi rebel missile wounded people in Israel. But a nighttime picture of a massive fire repeatedly shared on social media does not show the US strike.

The Israeli military named the five killed as Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali; Faisal Abdallah Muhammad Abu Qamsan; Mohammed Ayad Khamis al-Ladaa; Ayman Nihad Abd Alrahman Jadi; and Fadi Ihab Muhammad Ramadan Hassouna.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and wounded in Russia's Kursk region and warned that Pyongyang could send more personnel and equipment for Moscow's army.