THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday rejected Israel's request to withdraw arrest warrants against its prime minister and former defence minister while the ICC reviews Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction over the conduct of the Gaza war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government suffered a fresh setback on Wednesday as Shas, a key ultra-Orthodox party, decided to quit the ruling coalition, multiple Israeli media outlets reported.

A key partner in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially withdrawn from the coalition, dealing a major blow to the official and leaving him in the minority within the Israeli parliament.

In our news wrap Wednesday, a second party in Israel exited Netanyahu's coalition, leaving him with a minority in parliament, an American aid organization in Gaza says 20 Palestinians died in a crowd surge at one of its distribution sites today and President Trump lashed out at his own supporters over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and called it a "big hoax.

A religious party has quit Israel's ruling coalition in a dispute over military service, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority in parliament but still enough political support to secure a potential Gaza ceasefire.

Why has the Gaza war lasted so long? In a blockbuster investigative profile published this morning, the Times Magazine explains how Benjamin Netanyahu prolonged it partly for personal political reasons.

In an unprecedented move, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee came to the court where Prime Minister Netanyahu was testifying to support him.