War, Death and Animation: Cartoon Film Stirs Israel's Conscience

Until a matter of months ago, very few Israelis realised that their army fired flares to light up Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps while Lebanese Christian militiamen committed the notorious massacre of Palestinian civilians there in 1982.

But Ari Folman, who as a 19-year-old soldier fired some of the flares, makes their descent through the sky over Beirut's beachfront one of the recurring images of Waltz With Bashir, his "animated documentary" that premiers in Britain this week.

UN to Suspend Food Distribution in Gaza

GAZA CITY - The United Nations will suspend its food distribution to half of Gaza's 1.5 million people on Thursday after Israel failed to allow emergency supplies into the Palestinian territory, a spokesman said.

Israel initially said it would allow 30 trucks to deliver supplies to Gaza on Thursday after it completely sealed off the Gaza Strip on November 5, but later said mortar fire by Gaza militants made it impossible to do so.

Israeli Bombs Are Source of Uranium at Shelled Site, Syria Says

Israeli missiles are the source of traces of uranium that diplomats at the International Atomic Energy Agency say were found at a suspected nuclear site in Syria, according to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moa

Israel Blocks Foreign Media from Gaza

JERUSALEM - Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip for a week, in a move media have assailed as a serious violation of press freedom.

Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said the restrictions were imposed because Palestinian militants have resumed their rocket fire from Gaza, in violation of a 5-month-old truce. The only people allowed to enter and leave Gaza under the policy are international aid workers and Palestinian patients seeking medical treatment outside the territory, he said.

Boat Breaks Gaza Strip Blockade, Sails Into Port

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A group of European lawmakers sailed from Cyprus into Gaza Saturday, defying an internationally backed blockade of the Hamas-run territory with activists promising to send more visitors and goods to end the coastal strip's isolation.

Israel's navy did not try to block the vessel, Dignity, which made its third run from Cyprus to Gaza since August. The 23 passengers included 13 members of various European parliaments and an Israeli journalist, who will stay until Tuesday.

Bush Middle East Efforts End with Little Progress

JERUSALEM - Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is wrapping up the Bush administration's yearlong attempt to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace with little to show for her investment.

When she hands off the diplomatic baton to President-elect Barack Obama's administration in January, Rice will pass along a diplomatic initiative that has helped to dispel the mutual distrust that chilled peace talks for seven years.

Ceasefire Under Threat As Six Die in Gaza Raid

GAZA - A four-month-old ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza was in jeopardy yesterday after Israeli troops killed six Hamas gunmen in a raid into the territory.

Hamas responded by firing a volley of rockets into southern Israel, although no one was injured. The violence represented the most serious breach in a ceasefire agreed in mid-June. Despite the bloodshed, both sides suggested they wanted to return to a period of calm.