World News Roundup: Israeli troops enter Gaza's Al Shifa hospital in culmination of siege; UK's Sunak suffers major blow as Rwanda migrant scheme declared unlawful and more

That is the plight of Ahmed Shabat, a four-year-old boy whose parents were killed when their home in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northeastern corner of the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli air strike. Qatar seeking Israel-Hamas deal to free 50 hostages and 3-day truce, sources say Qatari mediators were on Wednesday seeking to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel that includes the release of around 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israeli troops enter Gaza's Al Shifa hospital in culmination of siege

Israeli troops entered Gaza's biggest hospital on Wednesday and were searching its rooms and basement, witnesses said, culminating a days-long siege that caused global alarm over the fate of thousands of civilians trapped inside. Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City has become the main target of the ground operation by Israeli forces, who say Hamas fighters have the "beating heart" of their operations in a headquarters in tunnels beneath it, which Hamas denies.

UK's Sunak suffers major blow as Rwanda migrant scheme declared unlawful

Britain's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the government's scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, dealing a crushing blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before an election expected next year. Under the plan, Britain intended to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrived on its shores without permission to the East African country in a bid to deter migrants crossing the Channel from Europe in small boats.

Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' against Israel faces trial by fire

Iran's supreme leader delivered a clear message to the head of Hamas when they met in Tehran in early November, according to three senior officials: You gave us no warning of your Oct. 7 attack on Israel and we will not enter the war on your behalf. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Ismail Haniyeh that Iran - a longtime backer of Hamas - would continue to lend the group its political and moral support, but wouldn't intervene directly, said the Iranian and Hamas officials with knowledge of the discussions who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely.

Indian rescuers hope bigger drill will reach 40 trapped in tunnel

Rescuers in north Indian mountains trying to reach 40 road workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel for more than three days will soon get help from a heavy drilling machine airlifted in to the site, officials said on Wednesday. The workers are safe and rescuers have been able to communicate with them and send them food, water and oxygen through a pipe since the early Sunday collapse, but huge boulders have stymied efforts to dig an escape route for them.

Biden, Xi meet as US-China military, economic tensions grind on

U.S. President Joe Biden meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in a year on Wednesday, for talks that may ease friction between the adversarial superpowers on military conflicts, drug-trafficking and artificial intelligence. However, deep progress on the vast differences separating the world's economic superpowers may have to wait for another day.

Bombarded twice in Gaza, 4-year-old Ahmed loses parents, then legs

The boy keeps asking for his parents, and he wants to get up and walk, but his parents are dead and his legs have been amputated. That is the plight of Ahmed Shabat, a four-year-old boy whose parents were killed when their home in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northeastern corner of the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli air strike.

Qatar seeking Israel-Hamas deal to free 50 hostages and 3-day truce, sources say

Qatari mediators were on Wednesday seeking to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel that includes the release of around 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. The deal, under discussion, which has been coordinated with the U.S., would also see Israel release some Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails and increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza, the official said.

Indonesia hosts regional defence chiefs amid multiple global crises

Defence ministers in ASEAN called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution to the crisis in Myanmar during the opening of a regional meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday. Defence ministers from the Asian bloc are attending the 2-day meeting alongside key players in the Indo-Pacific as major powers jostle for regional influence, and as conflicts deepen from Myanmar to the Middle East.

Rescuers search for survivors after lethal Russian missile strike in east Ukraine

A Russian missile smashed into an apartment block in the sleepy eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding at least three others, Ukrainian officials said. Rescuers at the site raced to clear rubble to find anyone trapped after four S-300 missiles struck the town shortly after midnight, damaging six apartment buildings and 20 homes, according to the police.

Cocaine still Colombia drug gangs' top export despite fentanyl's ascendancy

Rising use, low production costs and logistical advantages could eventually lead drug producers to focus on fentanyl instead of cocaine, a high-ranking Colombian police official said, but for now cocaine remains that country's top drug export. Rocketing consumption of synthetic drug fentanyl in the U.S. has led some - including Colombia's President Gustavo Petro - to forecast declines in cocaine production in the Andean country, the world's leading producer.