US denies Iran hit ship and other Mideast news

Key Points:

• The U.S. military denied Iran’s claim of striking an unmanned American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “total lie,” while Iran announced plans to declare an “exclusion zone” outside the strait targeting vessels it deems unauthorized.
• Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed seven people and destroyed a vacant hospital, with Israel citing retaliation for a Hezbollah drone attack; low-level conflict continues despite a ceasefire agreement.
• In Gaza, a mass funeral was held for over 110 Palestinians, including many children, whose bodies were recovered from rubble after Israeli strikes, amid ongoing high casualties reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry.
• Jared Kushner defended the slow progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, attributing difficulties to Hamas’s militarization and political complexities in Israel ahead of its upcoming election.
• Muslim nations condemned Israeli proposals to encourage Palestinian migration from Gaza, warning such actions would violate international law and undermine peace efforts, following Israeli officials’ statements on facilitating Palestinian removal.