RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Senegal has a new star.
The 17-year-old French-born Ibrahim Mbaye rejuvenated his team and provided the impetus for Sadio Mané to score in a 1-1 draw with Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday.
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Senegal fans support their national team during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal fan cheer during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
DR Congo's Noah Sadiki is challenged by Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal fans cheer during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal's Pape Alassane Gueye nd DR Congo's Theo Bongonda compete for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A senegal fan cheers during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal dominated possession and chances with Nicolas Jackson and Mané again missing good opportunities, as they did in the opening win against Botswana.
Cédric Bakambu pounced on the rebound to open the scoring for Congo in the 61st after Édouard Mendy had saved Théo Bongonda’s initial shot.
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw reacted by sending on Mbaye and the 17-year-old made an immediate impact, though not before Bongonda could have made it 2-0 on a break.
Mbaye ran at the Congolese defenders and had an effort saved by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, with Mané tucking away the rebound to level in the 69th.
“We are not completely unhappy as the AFCON is always tough,” Mané said. “It was a tough match and in this competition you cannot underrate any team.”
Mbaye was left free when Congo defender Arthur Masuaku pulled up with what looked like an Achilles injury. Masuaku was unable to continue, but Mbaye, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, could get more opportunities to shine against Benin in Senegal's final group game.
Earlier, Yohan Roche’s first-half strike was enough for Benin to beat Botswana 1-0 for its first ever Africa Cup win.
“It is a source of immense pride,” Roche said. “We were aware of the people’s expectations, and we managed to stay focused.”
After two games, Senegal leads Group D with four points, ahead of Congo on goal difference, with Benin third on three, followed by Botswana with none.
The top two progress automatically to the last 16, along with the best third-place finishers.
Nigeria was playing Tunisia later after both won their opening games in Group C, where Uganda and Tanzania were looking for their first win.
AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
Senegal fans support their national team during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal fan cheer during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
DR Congo's Noah Sadiki is challenged by Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal fans cheer during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Senegal's Pape Alassane Gueye nd DR Congo's Theo Bongonda compete for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A senegal fan cheers during the Africa Cup of Nations group D soccer match between Senegal and DR Congo in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Barefoot children played on chilly sand as Gaza ’s thousands of displaced people prepared threadbare tents on Saturday for another round of winter rain.
Some families in the central town of Deir al-Balah said they had been living in tents for about two years, or for most of the war between Israel and Hamas that has devastated the territory.
Fathers braced fraying tents with old pieces of wood or inspected the ragged edges of holes torn in tarps. Inside the dim homes, daylight through tiny holes shone like stars.
Mothers battled the damp, slinging clothing over poles or cord to dry in the wind between the downpours that turn paths into puddles. One mother pulled a tiny child away from a mildewing patch of carpet.
“We have been living in this tent for two years. Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood,” said Shaima Wadi, a mother of four children who was displaced from Jabaliya in the north. “With how expensive everything has become, and without any income, we can barely afford clothes for our children or mattresses for them to sleep on.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, has said dozens of people, including a two-week-old infant, have died from hypothermia or after weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes. Aid organizations have called for more shelters and other humanitarian aid to be allowed into the territory.
Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings. But with so much of the territory reduced to rubble, there are few places to escape the rain.
“I collect nylon, cardboard and plastic from the streets to keep them warm,” said Ahmad Wadi, who burns the materials or uses them as a kind of blanket for loved ones. “They don’t have proper covers. It is freezing, the humidity is high, and water seeps in from everywhere. I don’t know what to do.”
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington in the coming days as negotiators and others discuss the second stage of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10.
Though the agreement has mostly held, its progress has slowed. The remains of the final hostage taken during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war are still in Gaza. Challenges in the next phase of the ceasefire include the deployment of an international stabilization force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of truce violations.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said that since the ceasefire went into effect, 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 wounded. It said the bodies of 679 people were pulled from the rubble during the same period as the truce makes it safer to search for the remains of people killed earlier.
The ministry on Saturday said 29 bodies, including 25 that were recovered from under the rubble, had been brought to local hospitals over the past 48 hours.
The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 71,266, the ministry said, and another 171,219 have been wounded.
The ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement Saturday that a military operation continued in a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank a day after police said a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a young woman in northern Israel on Friday afternoon, killing both.
The statement said the army had surrounded the town of Qabatiya, where Katz said the attacker was from, and was operating “forcefully” there. Authorities on Friday said the attacker was shot and injured in Afula. He was taken to a hospital.
It’s common practice for Israel to launch raids in the West Bank towns that attackers come from or demolish homes belonging to the assailants’ families. Israel says that it helps to locate militant infrastructure and prevents future attacks. Rights watchdogs describe such actions as collective punishment.
AP video on Saturday showed Israeli bulldozers entering the town and soldiers patrolling.
“They announced a strict curfew,” resident Bilal Hanash said, as he and others described main roads being closed with dirt barriers, a practice that has grown during the war in Gaza. “So basically, they’re punishing 30,000 people.”
Find more of AP’s Israel-Hamas coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.
Reham Al-Helou, 35, sits at the entrance of her tent as her children play outside in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
2-year-old Sidra Obeid looks on as she stands in her family's tent in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Siraj Obeid, 27, looks at her daughter as they stand in their tent in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian children stand on an area surrounded by makeshift tents in a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Shaimaa Wadi, 25, sits with her 1-year-old daughter Tala, inside their tent in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
