Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Wednesday, Netanyahu said in a statement, amid the Gaza ceasefire and a regional diplomatic push.

The scene is the result of the invasion of Goma on January 27th by M23, an armed group under the control of Rwanda, Congo’s neighbour, which abuts the city. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has escalated a crisis whose origins go back decades.

Bodies are lying on the streets. Medical staff in overwhelmed hospitals are treating hundreds of wounded civilians against the backdrop of gunfire and mortar fire.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swaths of the nation’s mineral-rich east and forced hundreds of local troops and foreign mercenaries to surrender.

M23 rebels captured the key city of Goma in the eastern DRC Monday, forcing thousands of civilians to flee in the latest in a series of advances - Anadolu Ajansı

The rebel leader whose fighters have captured Goma, the biggest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has vowed to continue their offensive all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. Corneille Nangaa, who heads an alliance of rebel groups that includes the M23, said their ultimate aim was to topple President Félix Tshisekedi's government.

President Paul Kagame said Rwanda was ready for "confrontation" as he rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south on Thursday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma.

Kagame says militias backed by the DRC, including Rwandan genocidaires FDLR, were

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Residents of the besieged city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, say they are gripped by fear as gunshots continue to ring out around their homes, days after rebel forces claimed they had taken over.