Zohran Mamdani wins New York mayoral race

In his first comments on the elections, US President Donald Trump suggested that Republicans’ poor performance was due to him not being on the ballot and the ongoing government shutdown.

“‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’” he wrote on Truth Social, without citing any specific pollsters.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Democratic victories in local and state races, saying:

“Tonight’s results are a repudiation of the Trump agenda. The cruelty, chaos and greed that define MAGA radicalism and are skyrocketing costs were firmly rejected by the American people. If Republicans want to keep blindly following Donald Trump into the abyss of chaos, let them. The rest of America is moving forward.”

Democrats secured major wins on Tuesday, taking governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as the New York City mayoral race.

Shortly after his projected victory was announced, Zohran Mamdani shared a video on X from his campaign, showing subway doors opening as the conductor announced:

“The next and last stop is City Hall.”

The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPR Action) has welcomed the projected victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race, describing it as a sign of growing support for his progressive policies.

Mamdani was the first candidate ever endorsed by USCPR Action, one of the largest pro-Palestine advocacy organisations in the United States. 

In a statement, USCPR Action Executive Director Ahmad Abuznaid said:

"Zohran’s historic win in the largest city in the U.S. proves that the people support Palestinian rights. They’re fed up with establishment politicians who arm Israel by the billions while Americans can’t afford groceries. They want their tax dollars to fund care for their communities, like food, housing, and healthcare—not sent to a foreign apartheid state to fuel endless war and genocide."

Abuznaid added: "The people of New York City have spoken, and they support candidates who put their tax dollars to good use to fund care, not killing."

"Zohran has remained uncompromised by the influence of the Israel lobby, placing the Democratic establishment on notice. Any serious candidate must refuse to take AIPAC money, which is essentially a bribe to arm Israel instead of funding constituent needs.”

Republican Curtis Sliwa conceded his bid for New York City mayor but vowed to continue his political movement. Speaking to supporters at a bar, he said:

“We don’t have a price. You can’t buy us, rent us, lease us — we are not for sale. We are the people.”

New Yorkers elected Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor Tuesday, US networks projected, on a day of key local votes across the country offering the first electoral judgement of Donald Trump's tumultuous second White House term.

US cable channels NBC, CBS and CNN projected that Democratic socialist Mamdani, who will become New York's first Muslim mayor, would pick up more votes than his closest rival, former governor Andrew Cuomo.

Mikie Sherrill tweeted after her projected victory in the New Jersey governor’s race:

“New Jersey, it is the honour of my life to earn your trust to become this great state’s 57th Governor. I promise to listen, lead with courage, and never forget who I serve.”

The Associated Press has reported that Democrat Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday.

The Associated Press declared Mamdani the winner at 9:34 p.m. EST.

More developments to come.

Ghazala Hashmi has won the lieutenant governor race in Virginia, according to projections from AP and Decision Desk HQ, becoming the first Muslim and Indian American to hold statewide office in the southern state.

She is also the first Muslim woman in US history to be elected to statewide office.

“Congratulations to Ghazala Hashmi on her historic victory — becoming the first Muslim elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia!” said Nihad Awad, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “A proud moment for Virginia and for all who believe in an America that celebrates diversity, service, and justice 4 all.”

Hashmi, who entered politics as a Virginia state senator in 2019, defeated her Republican opponent John Reid on Tuesday.

City Council President Mary Sheffield will be Detroit’s newest mayor and the first woman to lead the city.

Sheffield defeated popular megachurch pastor the Rev. Solomon Kinloch in Tuesday’s general election.

She will take office in January and succeed three-term Mayor Mike Duggan who announced last year that he would not seek reelection. Duggan is running for Michigan governor as an independent to replace term-limited Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

Sheffield will inherit a city that continues to improve following Detroit’s 2014 exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Duggan was elected in 2013 and took office in January 2014. Under his watch, Detroit has dramatically improved city services, including shorter police response times, public lighting and blight elimination.

Detroit has had 12 consecutive years of balanced budgets and the city has been showing historically low violent crime numbers.

In Virginia, former Democratic congresswoman Abigail Spanberger is projected to defeat Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears in the governor’s race.
State Senator Ghazala Hashimi is expected to win the lieutenant governor’s race, beating Republican radio host John Reid.

In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill is projected to become the next governor, defeating Trump-backed Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Corey O’Connor is expected to win the Pittsburgh mayoral race, defeating Republican Tony Moreno.

In Ohio, Democrat Aftab Pureval is projected to win re-election as Cincinnati mayor, defeating Republican Cory Bowman, the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance.

In Massachusetts, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is expected to secure a second term after running unopposed.

And in Georgia, Andre Dickens is projected to win re-election as Atlanta mayor, securing another term in the Democrat stronghold.

Vote counting is now under way, with Decision Desk HQ projecting Zohran Mamdani as the winner of New York City’s mayoral race.

The independent data provider is currently the only US outlet to make this call. Further updates to follow.

Decision Desk HQ projects Zohran Mamdani to win the New York City Mayor election.#DecisionMade: 9:03 pm ET

Follow live results on our website. pic.twitter.com/JLV4vXwznG

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 5, 2025

According to New York City’s Board of Elections, a total of two million votes have been cast in the city’s mayoral election- the highest turnout since 1969.

The announcement came as polling stations prepared to close, the board confirmed in a post on X.

Polls have officially closed in New York City’s mayoral race, with vote counting now underway and results expected soon.

Supporters of the leading candidates are gathering across the city for election night watch parties.

Zohran Mamdani is hosting his event at the historic Brooklyn Paramount in downtown Brooklyn, while Andrew Cuomo’s campaign is holding its gathering at the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown Manhattan, near Radio City Music Hall.

Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa is watching the results from a restaurant on Manhattan’s heavily Democratic Upper West Side.

With state and local elections happening across the United States, poll closing times and result announcements will vary.

Although polling stations shut at specific hours, the speed of the count depends largely on how close each race is or whether a candidate secures a decisive early lead.

In New York City, polls for the mayoral race will close at 9pm local time (02:00 GMT Wednesday). The same schedule applies in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where residents are also voting for mayor.

Meanwhile, in California, polling will end at 8pm local time (04:00 GMT Wednesday) as voters decide on Proposition 50 — a redistricting initiative introduced in response to a similar Republican-backed measure in Texas.

Zohran Mamdani criticised Andrew Cuomo following Donald Trump’s endorsement, telling NBC News that the backing proves Cuomo is supported by the “same billionaire donors” as the US president.

Mamdani added that Cuomo would be “too busy cashing cheques” from donors and “taking calls from the president himself” to stand up to Trump.

Cuomo, however, pushed back, insisting that Trump “does not support” him and instead “opposes Zohran Mamdani,” after the former president described the race as being between a “bad Democrat” and “a communist.”

Decision Desk HQ has projected Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill as the winner of the New Jersey governor’s race, defeating Republican contender Jack Ciattarelli, who had the backing of Donald Trump.

The outlet is so far the only organisation to call the race.

Decision Desk HQ projects Mikie Sherrill to win the New Jersey Governor election.#DecisionMade: 8:13 pm ET

Follow live results on our website. pic.twitter.com/67CvF5ZM35

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 5, 2025

Democrat Abigail Spanberger will be the first woman to run the US state of Virginia after her party won back the governor's mansion from Republicans Tuesday, US media projected, in voters' first significant verdict on Donald Trump's return to office.

The former CIA officer and moderate three-term congresswoman was projected to beat Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Marine veteran and staunch Trump ally, by a comfortable margin.

Outgoing New York City mayor Eric Adams cast his vote for Andrew Cuomo at around 5pm at an elementary school in Brooklyn, according to The New York Times.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Adams said:

"My vote is clearly for Governor Cuomo. We can’t go backwards. This city’s not a socialist city."

He added: "The only message I can give to New Yorkers as I go to the next leg of my journey: I’m leaving you a good city. Don’t mess it up."

Polls are set to close in New York City’s high-stakes mayoral election between Democrat Zohran Mamdani and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo.

Results are expected shortly after polling stations shut at 9pm on Tuesday (02:00 GMT Wednesday).

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticised Zohran Mamdani for suggesting that recent bomb threats targeting polling stations in New Jersey were linked to Donald Trump’s rhetoric questioning the legitimacy of elections, calling the comments “irresponsible.”

Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way stated that there were “no credible threats at this time,” adding that voting resumed normally after temporary disruptions caused by the alerts.

Trump has often made false claims undermining the credibility of voting in Democrat-led states — rhetoric that critics argue has contributed to threats and violence against election officials.

Mamdani described the threats as “part of the general approach the Trump administration has taken to trying to intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud as a means of trying to repress the voice of Americans across this country.”

“I saw those comments from Mamdani. I thought they were completely irresponsible and they are based on zero evidence,” Leavitt told reporters.

With just hours remaining before polls close, New York City’s mayoral race has already broken turnout records not seen since 2001.

According to figures released by the Board of Elections at 3pm local time (20:00 GMT), a total of 1,451,942 ballots have been cast so far.

This surpasses every mayoral election since 2001, when 1,469,454 votes were recorded in the race between Republican Michael Bloomberg and Democrat Mark Green, held shortly after the September 11 attacks.

Election Day continues across the United States, with the spotlight on several pivotal contests, including the closely watched New York City mayoral race. Key updates from the race:

• Candidates vote: Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, independent candidate and former governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa all cast their ballots earlier today.

• Endorsements & silence: Outgoing mayor Eric Adams voted for Cuomo. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has not endorsed Mamdani, declined to disclose his vote.

• High turnout: Voter participation has already exceeded the total number recorded in the 2021 NYC mayoral election, according to city election data.

• Poll closing & results: Polls close at 9 pm ET. Initial results will be released shortly after, with updates continuing throughout the night.

• Trump’s interference: President Donald Trump urged New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo and threatened to limit federal funding if Mamdani wins. He also posted a controversial message on Truth Social, targeting Jewish voters who support Mamdani.

• Mamdani’s response: Zohran Mamdani stated he “will not be intimidated” by Trump and will treat the president’s remarks “as the words of a president, not the law of the land.”

Voter turnout continues across New York City in a heated mayoral election where residents are choosing between three candidates: Zohran Mamdani (34) representing the Democratic Party, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (67) running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa (71).

Naseeba Mubarak, a volunteer with Mamdani’s team, told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site al-Araby al-Jadeed that she joined the campaign because of her belief in his "policies and commitment to helping people.”

She added: “Zohran is from here and wants to do good for this country. He brings fresh ideas, including a rent freeze for low-income residents. He’s given people hope — in America and for freedom of expression without fear.”

Naseeba also said Mamdani’s stance on Palestine showed “that candidates who support the Palestinian cause can succeed. He stands with the people, and we see him out on the streets with everyone.”

Harini Sudha, a nurse of South Asian heritage, also volunteers for Mamdani’s campaign. "I’m proud to support Zohran Mamdani and to volunteer for his campaign,” she said. "I work in a public hospital in Brooklyn, and I believe Zohran will stand up for our hospitals, affordable housing, and safer streets. I see people suffering every day in the emergency room. I’m here for Zohran and for a safer, more liveable New York."

Alexa Johnson, a woman in her twenties wearing a Mamdani campaign sweatshirt, said housing affordability was her top concern: “I voted for Zohran Mamdani because he’ll make living in this city affordable again.”

John, an Italian American voter from Queens in his late sixties who supported Andrew Cuomo, expressed frustration: “This is one of the worst elections — no good options. Curtis Sliwa is a good man but doesn’t have the recognition or support. So I had to pick the lesser of two evils. I just want them to leave me alone. I can take care of myself. Yes, I voted for Cuomo, but it was the least bad choice.”

Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will choose their next governors on Tuesday in a pair of races that will serve as an early gauge of the American electorate's mood after President Donald Trump's norm-shattering nine months in office.

And in California, voters will decide whether to give Democratic lawmakers the power to redraw the state's congressional map, expanding a national battle over redistricting that could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives after next year's midterm elections.

Polls close first in Virginia at 7 p.m. ET (0000 GMT), followed by New Jersey, New York and California throughout Tuesday evening.

Virginia, exhorting voters to elect Democrats to counter what he branded the Republican Trump's "lawlessness."

More than 3 million people voted early in Virginia, New York and New Jersey, in each case far exceeding the totals from four years ago.

In New York City, there were 735,000 ballots cast, according to the city elections board, more than four times the number in 2021.

The New Jersey race has emerged as the most hotly contested campaign, with opinion polls showing Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a congresswoman and former Navy pilot, holding a narrow lead over her Republican challenger, former state lawmaker and small-business owner Jack Ciattarelli. The day's other races appear less competitive.

In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, a former Democratic U.S. representative, held a comfortable opinion polling lead over the state's Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican.

Voters in Stafford, Virginia, which Democrat Kamala Harris won by less than one point in last year’s presidential elections, said Trump's efforts to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally and impose costly tariffs on imports of foreign goods were top of mind.

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who served from 2014 to 2021, announced on social media that he voted for Zohran Mamdani.

“One of the happiest votes I ever cast!” de Blasio wrote. “What a beautiful day for NYC!”

De Blasio has previously praised Mamdani’s campaign.

One of the happiest votes I ever cast!
What a beautiful day for NYC!☀️
⁦@ZohranKMamdani⁩ ⁦@HotGirls4Zohran⁩ pic.twitter.com/l0XGr1z2IB

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) November 4, 2025

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to reveal who he voted for in the New York City mayoral election, telling reporters following a two-and-a-half-hour lunch meeting with fellow Senate Democrats, "I voted, and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City."

Donald Trump said on Tuesday any Jewish person who votes for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a "stupid person," the latest in a string of comments over the course of the U.S. president's career suggesting that Jewish Americans vote against their own interests.

"Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

His social media post followed comments on Monday in which he urged New Yorkers to vote for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is trailing Mamdani in the polls. He also threatened to withhold federal funds from New York City if Mamdani wins the Tuesday election.

Mamdani, who identifies as Muslim, has been critical of the current Israeli government, ut vehemently rejects accusations of anti-Semitism, which he has faced from many Republican leaders.

Trump and his fellow Republicans have been unpopular among Jewish Americans for many years, a fact that is known to rankle the president. In a September 2024 Pew Research Center survey, Trump trailed then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris by some 32 percentage points.

Wall Street is on edge heading into the New York City mayoral election on Tuesday, with a potential victory for Zohran Mamdani set to reverberate through the heart of global capitalism, where financiers worry about the city's lasting competitiveness and appeal.

Investors also are watching the results of governors' races in New Jersey and Virginia to gauge whether Democrats are gaining momentum against President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of next year's U.S. midterm elections.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old state lawmaker who won the Democratic nomination, has been leading in polls and betting markets in a fierce contest to run New York, the U.S. financial capital.

Wall Street and the finance industry have expressed broad misgivings about the prospect of a Mamdani mayoralty, as the democratic socialist pushes for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. However, they are also hopeful that he moderates his positions or finds roadblocks to achieving some of his aims.

A Mamdani win is "a risk I'm watching in 2026," Dean Lyulkin, CEO of Cardiff, a private investment firm and small business lender in San Diego, California, told Reuters news agency.

"Actual policy often turns out much more benign than campaign rhetoric, but if other major cities follow this pattern, markets may start pricing in more tax and regulatory risks," Lyulkin said.

Mamdani has focused his campaign on affordability. His agenda includes a rent freeze, free bus service, universal childcare and city-run grocery stores. Mamdani's policies also include hiking taxes on New York City's wealthiest and raising the corporation tax, driving worries among the finance community that the city's competitiveness will suffer.

While New York's mayor has no direct oversight over Wall Street, the mayor sets the tone on whether the city is perceived as business-friendly.

Some heavyweights in finance had poured money into efforts to defeat Mamdani, including high-profile investors Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb.

The New York City Board of Elections has released the latest voter turnout figures.

As of 3pm local time (20:00 GMT), over 1.4 million people had cast their ballots — a total that includes a record 735,000 early votes.

This means around 717,000 votes were recorded on election day so far, with more than five hours remaining before polls close at 9pm (02:00 GMT).

Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday during her Middle East tour.

According to a post by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry on X, the officials “discussed regional developments and stressed the need to coordinate efforts to maintain the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ensure the implementation of all terms of the ceasefire agreement, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the area.”

A day earlier, in an interview with Channel 4, Cooper criticised delays in aid reaching Gaza, saying Israel had “no excuse” for blocking access to supplies from a UK-funded warehouse intended for the enclave.

Former UK minister Alistair Burt has accused Israel’s government of killing Palestinian nurse Razan al-Najjar and expressed regret for not speaking out at the time.

Burt, who served as Minister for the Middle East under Theresa May, told The Independent he wished he had condemned the 2018 killing of 21-year-old medic Razan al-Najjar, who was shot while treating wounded protesters near Gaza’s border.

He said Najjar had been “clearly targeted and murdered”, describing Israel’s promises to investigate such incidents as “bogus” efforts to “cover up killings.”

The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that it received a coffin containing a body transferred by Hamas through the Red Cross.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticised Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado after she voiced support for Israel.

Araghchi said the Nobel Peace Prize had become a “political tool” following Machado’s comments backing Israel and condemning Iran for “supporting terrorist organisations” such as Hamas and Hezbollah. He accused her of praising “perpetrators of genocide and war crimes” in reference to her recent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.    

The Israeli military said on Tuesday the Red Cross had taken possession of the remains of one hostage from Gaza as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

"According to information provided by the Red Cross, a coffin of a deceased hostage has been transferred into its custody and is on the way to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

Sudan's defence minister said on Tuesday that the army would press on with fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after the country's security and defence council met to discuss a US proposal for a ceasefire.

"We thank the Trump administration for its efforts and proposals to achieve peace," Hassan Kabroun said in a speech broadcast on state television, adding that "preparations for the Sudanese people's battle are ongoing."

"Our preparations for war are a legitimate national right," he said, following the council meeting in Khartoum.

No details of the US truce proposal have been made public.

The war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more over the past two years, has spread to new areas of Sudan in recent days, sparking fears of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.

(AFP)

The Sudanese ambassador to the UN urged the international community on Tuesday to pile the pressure on the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of propping up the paramilitaries in Sudan's devastating war.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict with Sudan's regular army since April 2023.

The supplier of arms to the RSF "is very well known. Unfortunately, it is the UAE," said Hassan Hamid, the ambassador of Sudan's army-aligned government to the United Nations in Geneva.

"Sudan repeatedly calls upon the international community to act today with... public decisive pressure on the United Arab Emirates to cease immediately arming and financing such terrorist militia," he told reporters.

The UAE has consistently denied any links to the RSF, despite evidence presented in international reports and open-source intelligence investigations based on publicly available data.

(AFP)

The UN agency of Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned on Tuesday that the occupied West Bank is facing "the largest displacement crisis" since the 1967 war.

"One in four displaced families are still unable to return to their homes," it wrote in a post on X 

"To support sanitation services, UNRWA has been removing 13 tons of waste daily in communities hosting forcibly displaced people," it said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by Israeli forces and extremist settlers since October 2023, most from refugee camps which have been besieged by the Israeli military.

Military raids, house demolitions and settler rampages have soared across the territory in recent months, driving people from their homes.

Israeli media are reporting that the government will not allow around 200 Hamas members trapped underground in Israeli-occupied Rafah to cross into Hamas-run territory.

Earlier reports had suggested that Israel was considering granting the fighters safe passage from the tunnels into areas not occupied by Israeli forces if they surrendered their weapons.

Hamas will hand over the body of an Israeli soldier found earlier today at 2000 local time (1800 GMT), its armed wing has said.

The group found the soldier's remains in the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City earlier this afternoon.

This would be the 21st body returned by Hamas under the 10 October ceasefire deal.

Seven are believed to remain under the rubble in Gaza.

Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians and wounded seven others over the past 24 hours, according to the local health ministry.

This takes the total number of casualties since the 10 October ceasefire to 240, while 607 others have been injured.

Since 7 October 2023, at least 68,872 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and another 170,677 wounded, according to the ministry's latest tally.

The latest data from Israel’s Ministry of Finance shows that war-related expenses over two years have reached $76.3 billion, according to reports by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan).

"Data from the Ministry of Finance indicates that war expenditures have so far totalled 250 billion shekels ($76.3 billion)," said Kan.

It added that, according to senior Finance Ministry officials, the defence establishment mismanaged reserve duty days, leading to a waste of billions of shekels — a reference to bonuses paid to reservists during their service, though no further details were provided.

The report also noted that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at a press conference on Tuesday that "it is necessary to increase the defence budget to enable economic growth in Israel in the coming years."

Kan did not provide further details regarding Smotrich’s remarks.

The United Nations said Tuesday it had distributed food parcels to one million people in Gaza since the ceasefire, but warned it was still in a race to save lives.

The UN's World Food Programme stressed all crossing points into the Gaza Strip should be opened to flood the famine-hit Palestinian territory with aid, adding that no reason was given why the northern crossings with Israel remained closed.

"Three and a half weeks into the ceasefire in Gaza, we have distributed food parcels to around one million people across the Gaza Strip," said the WFP's Middle East spokeswoman Abeer Etefa.

"That's part of the broad operation to push back hunger in Gaza," she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Cairo.

WFP aims to reach 1.6 million people in the territory with parcels, which provide enough food for a family for 10 days. But to get operations running at the level required, "we really need more access, more border crossings to be opened and more access to key roads inside Gaza," said Etefa.

The armed wing of Hamas said on Tuesday it had found the body of an Israeli soldier in Gaza, and that arrangements are underway to hand it over to Israel.

The US is seeking a two-year mandate from the UN Security Council for the planned multinational force in Gaza.

A draft resolution has been sent to several countries on the 15-member council, with the US aiming to establish the force from January until the end of 2027, according to Axios.

One official said that the International Stabilisation Force would be an "enforcement force and not a peacekeeping force", with the document giving it a mandate to demilitarise the enclave.

This would effectively make it responsible for disarming Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions.

The broad mandate also includes securing Gaza's borders, protecting residents, and training a Palestinian police force.

Lebanese media are reporting a fresh Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon.

The strike targeted a car on the road between Nabatieh and Kfar Dajjal at 1315 local time, according to the country's state news agency.

We'll bring you more as we get it.

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in separate attacks in Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to Al Jazeera.

One was killed in Israeli fire Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to a source at al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

In an earlier attack, another person was killed and one wounded by an Israeli drone in the Tuffah suburb of Gaza City.

Imprisoned Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called in a message published on Tuesday for all parties to the peace process in Turkey to make genuine efforts to ensure it succeeds.

Ocalan, the founder of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), is spearheading efforts to move from a four-decade armed Kurdish rebellion against the Turkish state to a democratic political struggle for the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority.

Since August, a cross-party parliamentary committee has been working on a legal framework for this transition to peace.

It includes deciding on the fate of Ocalan, who has been in solitary confinement since 1999, and possible security guarantees for his fighters.

"To progress to a positive phase, it is essential for everyone to act with sensitivity, seriousness and a sense of responsibility," Ocalan wrote in the message, which was published by a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party that visited him in jail on Monday.

(AFP)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for a halt to fighting in Sudan, warning that the crisis was rapidly deteriorating after paramilitaries overran a key city.

Guterres urged the warring parties to "come to the negotiating table, bring an end to this nightmare of violence - now".

"The horrifying crisis in Sudan... is spiralling out of control," he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Summit for Social Development in Doha.

At the end of October the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war with the Sudanese army since 2023, seized control of the strategic city of El-Fasher, following an 18-month siege.

Reports have emerged of executions, sexual violence, looting, attacks on aid workers and abductions in and around El-Fasher, where communications remain largely cut off.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Cement maker Holcim's Lafarge unit goes on trial on Tuesday facing charges that its Syrian subsidiary financed terrorism and breached European sanctions to keep a plant operating in northern Syria during the country's civil war.

Investigative judges allege that Lafarge paid jihadist groups including Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, both designated as terrorists by the EU, a total of 5 million euros ($5.83 million) between 2013 and September 2014.

Lafarge, which became part of Switzerland-listed Holcim in 2015, and eight people including former Lafarge executives have been under investigation by the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office since 2017.

(Reuters)

Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that a Palestinian man was wounded by Israeli fire in northern Gaza on Tuesday morning.

The incident reportedly took place in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, according to a source at the Baptist Hospital.

Israeli forces have killed almost 240 Palestinians and wounded 600 others since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.

The US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard travelled to Israel on Monday, the latest in a growing list of American officials to travel to the country since last month's Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Gabbard is in the country to visit a US-led centre in charge of coordinating humanitarian efforts in Gaza since the truce came into effect, as well as the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza border.

Israeli forces arrested five fishermen off the coast of Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

The Gaza fishermen’s union said Israeli troops took the men to an unknown location.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned against violations of the ceasefire in Gaza that halted two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

Addressing reporters on the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Guterres said he was "deeply concerned about the continued violations of the ceasefire in Gaza. They must stop and all parties must abide by the decisions of the first phase of the peace agreement."

Israel has struck Gaza almost every day since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October, killing almost 240 Palestinians.

(AFP)

Eight Palestinians were reportedly arrested by Israeli forces in Nablus governorate on Tuesday morning.

The arrests occurred during raids in Nablus City, the village of Beit Furik, and the nearby Balata refugee camp.

Raids were also reported in the suburbs of Hebron and Tulkarem.

Israeli warplanes have reportedly carried out fresh airstrikes in southern Gaza in the latest violation of the fragile three-week-old ceasefire.

Strikes were reported in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, on Tuesday morning by Al Quds TV.

This comes as day after Israel released the remains of 45 Palestinians following Hamas's handover of three dead Israeli soldiers held in Gaza.