GAZA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Israeli air strike killed senior Hamas armed commander Ayman Nofal in Gaza, the Hamas armed wing Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades said on Tuesday.

A member of the higher military council of Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, Nofal was in charge of the Central Gaza area in the armed wing.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Security Council on Monday rejected a Russian resolution condemning spiraling violence in the Middle East, with delegates refusing to back a motion that did not single out Hamas for its surprise attack on Israel that left at least 1,400 people dead.

The council huddled as Israel readied for an expected ground assault on the Gaza Strip, after air and artillery strikes that officials say have killed at least 2,750 people.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine as well as Russian backing for China’s bid to expand its economic and diplomatic influence abroad.

DUBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described Israel's assault on Gaza as a genocide of Palestinians and said it must stop immediately, state TV reported on Tuesday.

A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) also warned of further action by Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel if it did not cease its attacks.

Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory of Gaza with air strikes since Hamas fighters burst into Israel from the enclave on Oct. 7 and killed 1,300 people, most of them civilians.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A dayslong attempt by Russian forces to storm a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine appears to be running out of steam, Kyiv officials said Monday, as the Kremlin’s war entered its 600th day.

Ukrainian forces repelled 15 Russian attacks from four directions on Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

BEIJING, October 17. /TASS/: Hungary has never sought confrontation with Russia, as Budapest has always planned to expand ties instead, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting.

"Hungary has never sought to confront Russia. Rather, the opposite is true: Hungary has always pursued the goal of building and expanding the best communication," Orban said.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Defeated New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Tuesday he will continue to lead his liberal Labour Party — for now, at least — despite its big election loss over the weekend.

“I’ve still got a bit of fight left in me,” Hipkins told reporters.

Hipkins made the comments after a meeting with his party’s caucus, during which there was no immediate move to oust him.

GOMA (DR Congo), Oct 17 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Seven members of a family were burnt to death on Saturday night in an “arson attack” in Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, police said.

The fire broke out at around 11pm in the Katoyi neighbourhood, according to neighbours who heard the occupants of the burning house shouted for help.

According to these witnesses, the house was locked from the outside while the father, mother and children were inside.

Oct 17 (Reuters) - A passenger on a rubber boat adrift in the Mediterranean Sea called a rescue hotline on June 23 to plead for help. The boat – carrying 14 migrants from the Middle East and Africa – was out of fuel in choppy waters. And a male passenger had just drowned.

The craft was about 70 nautical miles off the coast of Malta, within the small island country’s search and rescue zone, according to position data recorded by Alarm Phone, the hotline operator. Within these zones, countries are obligated under international law to coordinate search and rescue operations.

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has blamed the United States for fueling and expanding the Israel-Hamas conflict by adopting "unconstructive policies" and providing support for Israel to launch more attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on Monday when speaking with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell by phone, according to a statement released by Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS, October 17. /TASS/: The only thing Brussels has managed to achieve through its anti-Russian sanctions is to make more enemies for the EU worldwide, a trend that is likely to continue, Thierry Mariani, a French member of the European Parliament, said on Tuesday.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza where it had told Palestinians to flee to ahead of an expected ground invasion, killing dozens of people on Tuesday in retaliatory attacks it says are targeted at Hamas militants that rule the besieged territory.

With no water, fuel or food being delivered to Gaza since Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel last week, mediators struggled to break a deadlock over delivering supplies to increasingly desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals.