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.

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.

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 Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have released captured Romanian mercenaries who were fighting with the Congolese army. As they passed a border, they were chastised by Willy Ngoma, who tapped them mockingly one by one.

M23 rebels claim they now control the Congolese city of Goma—an act Congo's government described as a 'declaration of war.'

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo were moving south on Wednesday towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, apparently bidding to expand their area of control in the country's east after capturing the city of Goma.

In the capital, Kinshasa, protesters complaining of a lack of international action attacked foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., France and Rwanda.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a urgent cease-fire in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying Washington was "deeply troubled" by a recent escalation in the fighting.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi insisted his troops were mounting a "vigorous" response to Rwanda-backed fighters advancing in the country's perennially troubled east and slammed the international

Members of the M23 rebel group ride on a pickup truck as they leave their position for patrols amid conflict between them and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 29, 2025.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is part of a United Nations (UN)-backed peacekeeping mission in the DRC city of Goma.