Israel hits Gaza hospital and France turns away a settler leader, and other Mideast news

An Israeli airstrike hit one of the main hospitals still operating in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing six people and injuring at least 28 more.

In Iran, a body of clerics said it was necessary to consider withdrawing the country from a treaty meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. And in France, authorities barred an Israeli politician from entering the country because of his work as a prominent settler leader in the occupied West Bank.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday. Read our full coverage here.

An Israeli airstrike hit one of the main hospitals still operating in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing six people including a surgeon and a 13-year-old boy, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

The Israeli military said the strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza targeted a Hamas commander and other militants, without providing evidence. The commander it identified was not among the dead.

The strike hit the hospital’s surgical wing, the ministry and witnesses said. At least 28 people were wounded.

Israeli forces have previously targeted the Nasser Hospital, including an attack in 2025 that killed five journalists — among them Mariam Dagga, who worked for The Associated Press.

The six were among 10 Palestinians killed in four Israeli strikes on Thursday. Health officials reported strikes on two cars in Deir al-Balah and Gaza City and a building in Jabaliya. The Israeli military said the strikes had targeted militants.

Israel’s strikes on Gaza have continued despite a ceasefire deal with Hamas in October 2025. They have killed more than 1,600 Palestinians, bringing the total death toll of the conflict to over 74,600.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Thursday that he wanted Vice President JD Vance to focus on his efforts to root out fraud in U.S. government programs while dismissing the idea of diplomacy with Tehran.

Trump’s post came in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report that said Vance was considering direct talks with Iran after sending a letter recently to Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei. Vance’s office did not respond to a message Thursday.

The vice president was the face of an effort earlier this year to strike a deal with Iran to end the conflict. The deal later collapsed.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts said Thursday that considering withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is an “unavoidable necessity,” given recent repeated threats against the country, state TV reported.

The statement by the assembly, which is a clerical body responsible for appointing and overseeing Iran’s supreme leader, added to growing calls within Iran’s political establishment to reconsider the country’s longstanding nuclear policies.

Iran has enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels, but insists its program is only for civilian purposes. The late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared nuclear weapons forbidden under Islam.

Yossi Dagan, a prominent Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, said authorities denied him permission to enter France.

The incident happened last week as he flew to Charles de Gaulle International Airport, but was made public Wednesday. France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Dagan was “subject to an administrative ban from the territory due to his active role in implementing the settlement policy in the West Bank.”

Dagan, who heads one of six Israeli regional councils in the West Bank, said he was undeterred by France’s actions. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the decision by France “completely unacceptable.”

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal and an obstacle to peace by most of the international community. France was one of several European countries this year to step up restrictions on Israeli settlers and settlements.

The British military reported at least two tankers were struck by projectiles in recent days while traversing contested waters near Iran.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, an agency that monitors maritime safety, said one of the tankers was struck Wednesday on the Strait of Hormuz, northwest of Ras al-Khaimah. The agency reported the crew evacuated safely and no casualties were reported.

In another incident from Tuesday, the UKMTO said a tanker was struck by a projectile in the Persian Gulf. Multiple casualties were taken ashore for medical assistance while the remaining crew was safe and accounted for, the agency said.

The UKMTO didn’t provide more information on the victims or identify the tankers involved in either attack.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

People inspect damage to Nasser Hospital after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners attend the funeral of Khalid Abu Anza, 53, who was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

People walk at Nasser Hospital after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk arrived Thursday in Kabul for trade and investment talks with Afghanistan's Taliban government, Afghan officials said.

Russia officially recognized the Taliban government in July 2025. It remains the only country to have done so since the former insurgent group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from the country. Largely isolated from the international community and with a struggling economy, Kabul has been keen to increase foreign investment and open new trade avenues.

After being greeted by an honor guard, Overchuk met with Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund and Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

A statement from Akhund's office said the prime minister's meeting with Overchuk was also attended by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The Afghan government said in posts on its official X social media account that in their meeting, Baradar stressed Afghanistan’s potential for economic development and investment, highlighting “its strategic location, rich resources and a large workforce of 24 million people of working age.”

During the meeting, Baradar invited Russian companies to invest in Afghanistan in sectors including mineral extraction, the development of factories, infrastructure and special economic zones. He also said there was scope to expand exports of Afghan agricultural products to Russia, and for Russian investment in Afghanistan’s agriculture and livestock farming, the government said.

The deputy prime minister also asked Russia “to provide the necessary facilities for Afghan products in Russian markets and to cooperate in reducing transportation and transit costs,” the government statement said. It said that Baradar also spoke of investment opportunities in railway and road construction projects.

Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Overchuk as saying that Russia intends to develop trade ties with Afghanistan.

“Today our delegation includes more than 70 businessmen representing dozens of Russian companies, many of which already work in Afghanistan, (while) many want to begin working,” Interfax quoted him as saying. “For our part, first of all, we see the task in creating conditions for contacts between business communities to develop normally.”

Overchuk said that companies represented in the delegation are involved in transportation, logistics, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. He said that the Afghan government is interested in Russian fertilizers, including in “building fertilizer production plants directly in Afghanistan.”

“We see a big interest from the government of Afghanistan in developing relations with Russia,” Overchuk said, according to Interfax. “And we are ready to support Afghanistan in that. First and foremost, so that the economy develops, jobs are created, people have normal incomes and can live peacefully.”

While no country apart from Russia has offered formal recognition, the Taliban have engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic and economic ties with several countries, including the governments of China and the United Arab Emirates.

The Afghan government statement on the meeting quoted Overchuk as saying that trade between Russia and Afghanistan had more than doubled in the first eight months of 2026, reaching more than $349 million.

In this handout photo released by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, left, is greeted by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi, right, upon his arrival in Kabul, Thursday, Nov 12, 2026.(Afghanistan Foreign Ministry via AP)

In this handout photo released by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, left, walks after being greeted by Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Mutaqi, right, upon his arrival in Kabul, Thursday, Nov 12, 2026.(Afghanistan Foreign Ministry via AP)

FILE - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk attends a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov at the Grand Kremlin Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP, File)