Middle East latest: Israeli strike outside a Gaza hospital kills a medic and wounds several

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people — all patients and medics — according to a spokesman for the hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has bombarded and raided hospitals throughout the 18-month war in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accuse Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting Gaza’s health system.

The number of people killed by Israel's war in Gaza has climbed above 51,000 people, according to an updated toll released by the territory's Health Ministry on Tuesday. Since Israel ended the ceasefire last month, it has blocked all food, medicine and other aid from entering Gaza and its forces have seized more than half of the coastal territory.

The war in Gaza started when the Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

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Such operations are rare in Jordan, a strategically important U.S. ally.

The suspects are accused of trying to undermine national security and incite chaos in the kingdom, and have been under surveillance since 2021, said government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani.

Among other things, they're accused of manufacturing short-range missiles, possessing explosives and automatic weapons, concealing a ready-to-use missile, and illegally recruiting and training people. They are being held in custody until trial.

Jordan’s government said the accused have political affiliations and belong to what it called “unlicensed groups,” referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordan’s judiciary dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood in 2020.

In a statement Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood called the accusations unfair and said it was committed to Jordan’s stability and security. The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Arab Islamist political movement with branches in many countries, describing itself as a charitable and political organization, although experts say some branches have apparent ties to militants.

A spokesman for Hamas says an Israeli strike caused the group to lose contact with the militants guarding Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier held hostage in Gaza.

“A direct bombardment targeted their location. We are still trying to reach them,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, on Tuesday.

Hamas had released a video of the 21-year-old soldier just days earlier, likely speaking under duress. He is the last living American being held captive by Hamas.

Hamas did not say where in Gaza the strike may have taken place. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The Hamas announcement comes as Israeli leaders face growing domestic pressure to halt the fighting and reach a deal to bring home the hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to troops in northern Gaza on Tuesday, his office said, without providing details.

Netanyahu has previously entered Gaza a handful of times during the war.

The visit comes as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister faces dueling, possibly incompatible pressures: Families of the Israeli hostages want him to cut a deal with Hamas to free them, while his far-right coalition partners want to continue the war with the aim of annihilating the militant group.

That's according to satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press, which show the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group are operating in the Arabian Sea to back up the USS Harry S. Truman.

The operation of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group in the Arabian Sea comes as suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded parts of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overnight into Tuesday. American officials have repeatedly linked the United States' expanded bombing campaign against the Houthis under President Donald Trump as a means to pressure Iran in the negotiations.

The Houthis have been attacking shipping in the waters off Yemen since November 2023 — attacks the rebels say aim to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which oversees the Mideast, declined to discuss details of the Vinson’s operations. However, hours after the AP’s report, the U.S. military’s Central Command posted videos from the two carriers on the social platform X saying there had been “24/7 strikes” on the Houthis by the two carriers.

In the call with Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the creation of a Palestinian state would be “a huge reward for terrorism” and result in a militant-run entity just miles from Israeli cities.

In his own statement posted on X, French President Emmanuel Macron called for another ceasefire, the release of hostages and renewing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has blocked for over a month. He did not mention recognition of a Palestinian state.

Macron said last week that France should aim to recognize a Palestinian state by June when it joins Saudi Arabia in hosting an international conference on implementing a two-state solution.

The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009.

A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process.

The office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said Tuesday that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, ending the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities and officials since then, saying it aims to keep the militant group from rearming. Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal through the strikes as well as by continuing to occupy five strategic points in southern Lebanon.

U.N. Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said in a statement the Israeli strikes have also hit “civilian infrastructure,” including “residential buildings, medical facilities, roads and at least one café.”

From the Lebanese side, at least five rockets, two mortars and a drone have been launched at Israel since the ceasefire, he said. There were no casualties reported from those strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press statement at the Carmelite Monastery in the Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Covered in prayer shawls, Jewish men of the Cohanim Priestly caste participate in a blessing during the holiday of Passover, at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, Hani al-Hayek, left, the Palestinian Authority's minister for heritage and tourism and IM director Jack Lang listen as they visit the exhibition "Treasures rescued from Gaza" Monday, April 14, 2025 at the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

Relatives mourn over the bodies of Abdullah Habbash, along with the bodies of six brothers from the Abu Mahadi family, all members of a Palestinian charity organization linked to Hamas, who were killed earlier in an Israeli army strike on the car they were traveling in, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)"

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

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A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.

It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.

China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”

He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”

Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”

He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.

The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.

Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.

Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)