The wire

Lebanon demands Israel’s withdrawal from two 'pilot zones' in the south as a condition for participating in the next round of direct negotiations in Rome next week, a diplomatic source familiar with the talks told AFP. The two sides had previously met for five rounds of US-sponsored talks in Washington aimed at ending the war between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and paving the way for peace.

Gaza post-war plans face governance, security, and humanitarian relief challenges; progress remains largely theoretical without political agreement, credible security guarantees, and sustained funding.

LONDON: The main focus of the two-day NATO summit in Ankara this week was, overwhelmingly, the alliance’s renewed pledge of “unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” backed by additional military equipment and training. There was also a renewal of the commitment made at the 2025 summit in The Hague, following sustained pressure from US President Donald Trump, that all members will invest 5 percent of their respective gross domestic product in defense by 2035.

A US military delegation met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal from a “pilot zone” in occupied territory, under a framework agreement reached on June 26. Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has deployed troops to fight Hezbollah, and the Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.

GAZA: The death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 73,221, with 173,643 people injured since Oct. 7, 2023, medical sources in the enclave said on Saturday. According to the sources, hospitals across Gaza received seven bodies over the past 24 hours, including one recovered from beneath the rubble, as well as 28 injured people. The sources added that since the ceasefire started on Oct. 11 last year, the death toll has reached 1,098, while 3,535 people have been injured.

DAMASCUS: Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani on Saturday described Syria‘s ties with Qatar as a model of partnership based on trust and mutual respect. Following a meeting with Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Damascus, Al-Shaibani said the partnership would promote regional development and stability.

HEBRON: Several Palestinians were injured on Saturday by live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades during an attack by Israeli forces and colonists on a home in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah. Local sources said that Israeli forces and colonists attacked the home of Mohammad Hamed Abu Alia’s family, injuring one Palestinian with live fire in the thigh and two others with rubber-coated metal bullets. A 10-year-old child, Raed Odeh Abu Alia, sustained a head injury caused by a stun grenade.

BURIN, Palestinian Territories: As brightly colored kites climb above Burin, a Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, children race across a sun-baked hillside, watching their creations soar into the sky. Behind them, the red-roofed houses of Har Bracha, an Israeli settlement, overlook the village below. Established in 1983, the settlement, illegal under international law, is one of several that encircle Burin, a village of a few thousand people.

DUBAI: Russia hopes by mid-July to have a commercial logistics hub up and running in one of two berths at the naval base it leases in the Syrian port of Tartous, while keeping a military presence at the other, Syrian officials told Reuters.

ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s government pressed on with its campaign against the main opposition CHP on Saturday with dozens of arrests targeting a district in the capital Ankara that is run by the party. Some 27 people were arrested in early-morning raids in Cankaya, out of a total of 36 named in a warrant issued by Ankara’s public prosecutor, media reports said. The warrant reportedly cited accusations of forming or belonging to a criminal organization, bribery and tender rigging. Among those named in the warrant was Cankaya Mayor Huseyin Can Guner.

BAMAKO: Mali and Algeria reopened their airspace and reinstated their ambassadors, ending a diplomatic rift that started over a year ago after Algeria shot down a Malian armed drone near the shared border. Mali’s military junta said in a statement late Friday it would restore the Algerian ambassador to Bamako and open its airspace to “all civilian and military aircraft operating flights to or from the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.” Algerian media also confirmed the restoration of diplomatic relations.

DUBAI: Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun met with US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa to discuss his upcoming official visit to the United States on the invitation of US President Donald Trump, as well as the current situation in Lebanon and the wider region. During the meeting, President Aoun stressed the importance of reinforcing the ceasefire in southern Lebanon and increasing pressure on Israel to stop its military operations and comply with the framework agreement announced following the Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations held in Washington.

TEHRAN: Iran summoned the British ambassador to Tehran to protest what it called “baseless accusations,” state media said on Thursday, after a London court jailed two people for a knife attack it said was carried out at Iran’s behest.

DUBAI: Iran buries its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday at the country’s holiest shrine, with ​his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei still hidden from public view after being disfigured in the strike that killed his father. The burial in Mashhad in northeast Iran follows a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies that has coincided with a renewed burst of conflict with the United States following weeks of truce.

BEIRUT: Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of wiping out families in its strikes on Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah, calling for these attacks to be investigated as war crimes. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by launching rockets at Israel in support of its backer Iran. Israel responded with major airstrikes and a ground invasion, killing more than 4,300 people according to Lebanese authorities, including more than 250 children.

SINJIL: On a cool night in June, some 15 Palestinians from the town of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank gathered on a hilltop to watch the shadowed valleys below for any sign of movement that might ​signal an impending Israeli settler attack. They are part of a grassroots volunteer group — similar to others in the West Bank — that has stepped in to defend the town from rising settler violence that Palestinians say the Israeli military and their own government have proved unable or unwilling to prevent.

Jordanian government spokesperson Dr Mohammad Al Momani said air raid sirens were activated by the Public Security Directorate on Thursday following reports of the Kingdom's airspace being breached by missiles launched from Iran, which were intercepted and dealt with. Al Momani added the Jordanian Armed Forces remain on high alert, ready to address any threats as he urged citizens and residents to adhere to governmental guidelines and avoid spreading false news.

NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Abdulaziz Alwasil told the Security Council on Wednesday that sexual violence continues to be used in armed conflicts as a weapon of oppression, intimidation and forced displacement, targeting civilians, particularly women and children. Addressing a high-level council meeting on conflict-related sexual violence and the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda, Alwasil said such acts constitute serious violations of international human rights laws.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza now live with permanent injuries after more than two years of war, as a shattered healthcare system struggles with severe shortages of medical supplies and rehabilitation equipment.

‌Iraq will not leave OPEC, but is seeking a fair output quota within the oil producer ‌group, ‌Iraqi Prime Minister ‌Ali ⁠Al-Zaidi said in an interview ⁠with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV, according to his office. Reuters ⁠reported in ‌an ‌exclusive in ‌June that ‌Iraq, the group’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia ‌and one of its five founding members, ⁠had ⁠considered leaving OPEC if the group did not allow Baghdad to significantly increase oil production.