Briefly

UNITED STATES

Poor hiring data point to economic weakness

US private-sector hiring data released on Wednesday painted a downcast picture of the job market, especially among small businesses. The report showed US companies shed 32,000 jobs in November, payroll firm ADP said, in a surprise drop set to firm up expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. "Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment," ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. "While November's slowdown was broad-based, it was led by a pullback among small businesses."

GAZA STRIP

Civil defense says 5 killed in Israeli strike

Gaza's civil defense agency told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday that an Israeli strike on the Palestinian territory killed five people, including two children. The Israeli military said it had struck a "Hamas terrorist" in southern Gaza in response to a clash with Palestinian militants in the area that wounded five soldiers. "Five citizens, including two children, killed and others injured, some seriously, as a result of an Israeli missile strike" in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. The agency said the strike hit near the Kuwaiti Field Hospital and "targeted" a shelter camp. The hospital also reported that five people, including two children aged 8 and 10, were killed and another 32 were wounded.

Agencies via Xinhua