Oil prices jumped and equities were mixed Monday as Middle East peace talks stumbled, while Lebanese authorities said Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks."

Crude futures shot around seven percent higher after an Iranian state news agency announced Tehran had suspended its negotiations with Washington via mediators.

International benchmark Brent closed 4.2 percent higher while its US counterpart, the West Texas Intermediate, added 5.5 percent.

The United States and Iran had traded strikes over the weekend and Tehran insisted that any deal to end the war must cover Israel's escalating offensive into Lebanon.

The Tasnim news agency report cited the breakdown of the ceasefire and clashes in Lebanon as the reasons for the halt in dialogue.

"Hopes of further progress in US-Iran talks have been dashed," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.

"This has duly resulted in a spike for oil prices, since the combination of this and the weekend's exchange of fire dramatically raises the chances of a fresh round of conflict," he added.

On Monday afternoon however, Lebanon's US embassy said that Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks," after Israel threatened more strikes on south Beirut on the eve of further Israel-Lebanon talks.

After the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February, Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows.

A ceasefire has largely held since mid-April, but traffic through the strait has been scant and negotiations have dragged on.

"Markets know that oil stockpiles are being rapidly run down, and the rosy assumptions around the renewal of supplies involved the straits being open by June," said Beauchamp.

(AFP)

UN chief Antonio Guterres said Monday that it will be necessary to maintain peacekeepers in Lebanon after the mandate of the current mission expires at year-end.

In a report to the Security Council seen by AFP, Guterres proposes three options ranging from nearly 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN personnel to monitor the ceasefire and support the Lebanese armed forces.

"Under all proposed options, a uniformed United Nations presence working to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, would be necessary... towards the overarching objective of a long-term solution to the conflict," the report says.

Concerns over the exit of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) come with Israeli troops occupying south Lebanon's border areas, and as Israel and Lebanon hold direct negotiations seeking to end decades of hostilities.

UNIFIL currently counts some 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries. They are deployed in south Lebanon near the Blue Line, the 120-kilometer (75-mile) de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, where they are now in the middle of the Israel-Hezbollah war.

A Lebanese official requesting anonymity told AFP that after UNIFIL's mandate ends on 31 December, Lebanon's preference is to still have "an international presence under the umbrella of the UN".

A second Lebanese official said it was "crucial" to have some kind of UN force resembling UNIFIL, "maybe with some downsizing or mission changes."

UNIFIL has been a buffer between Lebanon and Israel since 1978, but its presence has not been enough to prevent repeated outbreaks of conflict.

(AFP)

France has banned the display of Israeli offensive weapons at the 2026 edition of the Eurosatory international defence and security exhibition, the organisers told AFP on Monday.

"Only Israeli exhibitors presenting anti-ballistic and anti-air defence systems are authorised," said the president of COGES Events, Charles Beaudouin, responding to an Israeli defence ministry statement that protested the restrictions.

"This is a decision by the French government, by the Defence Council," Beaudouin added.

"There is no room for ambiguity: if an exhibitor is also a rocket manufacturer, they will not be allowed to display them. This ensures that no offensive weapons are present," he said.

The Israeli ministry denounced the move, saying it would "be unable to participate in the exhibition or establish a national pavilion".

"This is a disgraceful decision, one that reeks of political and commercial calculation, and regrettably, it comes as no surprise. It fits a deeply troubling pattern in French conduct in recent years," it added.

Paris has repeatedly condemned since late February Israel's attacks on Lebanese territory, where it is targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

On Sunday, France requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after the Israeli military seized the crusader-era Beaufort castle in Lebanon, flying its flag over the strategic landmark.

Eurosatory is taking place from 15 to 19 June at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre north of the capital.

(AFP)

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox demonstrated across Israel on Monday, blocking roads and trains and setting cars on fire to protest mandatory enlistment in Israel’s military.

Israel’s police said demonstrators blocked major intersections and attacked a soldier who disembarked from a bus near a protest. Police struggled to control the crowds with water cannons and horses.

The protest largely crippled the country’s centre, with highways closed and public transportation halted by the massive crowds in both Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv metro area.

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. The politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their followers to forgo military service and instead study in religious seminaries, but those exemptions are under threat.

Many Israelis are tired of the longstanding system that has allowed ultra-Orthodox men to skip military service at a time when the military is stretched to its breaking point and many have served multiple tours of reserve duty. The issue is tearing apart Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, possibly moving elections up by several weeks this fall after the ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew their support for Netanyahu.

Each year, roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach the conscription age of 18, but less than 10% enlist, according to a parliamentary committee.

Faced with severe shortages of soldiers, the military is looking to extend the period of mandatory service. Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years of military service, followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years.

"This public is determined, they see this as a war for their lives," said Israel Tropper, a demonstrator in Jerusalem. "From their perspective, going into the Israeli army means giving up religion ... we don’t want to give up our religion, so from our perspective it’s a war for our lives." He added that there is no way to force tens of thousands of people vehemently opposed to the idea to serve in the military.

Some protesters held signs condemning Israel saying "We would rather die as Jews than live as Zionists" and "We refuse to serve an army for the sake of the Zionist religion."

The ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society and are the fastest growing sector, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries. The exemptions date back to the birth of the state in 1948, when a small number of students sought to revive the Jewish scholarship system after it was decimated by the Holocaust.

Those exemptions - and the government stipends many seminary students receive up to the age of 26 - have infuriated many Israelis. Israel is currently maintaining simultaneous military occupations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, in addition to fighting a war with Iran, which has stretched its robust military to the breaking point.

The Supreme Court said the exemptions were illegal in 2017, but repeated extensions and government delay tactics have left them in place.

Among Israel’s Jewish majority, mandatory military service is largely seen as a melting pot and rite of passage. Many in the insular ultra-Orthodox community fear that military service would expose young people to secular influences.

(Associated Press)

In this episode of The Brief In, we examine Syria’s fragile and deeply contested transitional justice process after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The episode examines Syria’s transitional justice process, the Atef Najib trial and wider questions of accountability.

Is Syria finally having its accountability moment, or is it witnessing the performance of justice?

In this episode of The Brief In, we examine Syria’s fragile and deeply contested transitional justice process after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, focusing on the high-profile trials of former regime figures accused of torture, repression, killings and crimes that helped define one of the most brutal chapters in modern Middle Eastern history.

The announcement came amid international concerns over outbreaks of diseases including Ebola and Hantavirus in parts of the world, prompting Saudi authorities to implement extensive surveillance, screening and emergency preparedness measures throughout the pilgrimage season.

"Health security for the Hajj is global health security," Saudi Health Minister Fahad bin Abdulrahman AlJalajel said.

He said protecting millions of pilgrims through prevention, preparedness, response measures and international cooperation not only safeguarded the pilgrimage but also strengthened global public health security.

The ministry said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated Saudi Arabia on a safe Hajj season and praised the work of the Kingdom's healthcare professionals.

According to the ministry, Dr Tedros's remarks reflected international confidence in Saudi Arabia's ability to manage one of the world's largest annual gatherings.

Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, also praised the Kingdom's health operation, highlighting the use of robotics, drones and health-monitoring systems throughout the pilgrimage.

WHO teams monitored disease risks during the Hajj season, she said, and the outcome demonstrated the ability of the system to manage the health challenges associated with a major international gathering.

The ministry said the disease-free outcome was the result of one of the largest healthcare operations ever conducted during the Hajj.

More than 52,000 health workers and 7,700 paramedics were deployed during the pilgrimage, supported by over 20,000 hospital beds, including 3,800 dedicated to the holy sites.

Health authorities said more than 2.46 million medical services were delivered during the season, while over one million calls were handled through the ministry's "937" health hotline.

Saudi officials said preparations took place against a complex global health backdrop.

The Saudi Public Health Authority, Weqaya, monitored international outbreaks, including Ebola cases reported in several countries and Hantavirus infections elsewhere, while coordinating with WHO and international health partners.

Authorities strengthened health requirements for pilgrims before arrival and expanded surveillance systems at ports of entry and throughout the holy sites.

The ministry said field epidemiology teams, rapid-response units and advanced laboratory networks remained on standby throughout the pilgrimage, while multilingual public awareness campaigns focused on heat stress and disease prevention.

"No case of either disease, or any other epidemic illness, was found among pilgrims," the ministry said.

Saudi officials said the outcome reinforced the Kingdom's growing role in the field of mass gathering medicine and demonstrated its commitment to protecting pilgrims and supporting global public health.

The ministry thanked healthcare workers, security personnel and government agencies involved in the operation, saying their combined efforts enabled millions of pilgrims to complete the Hajj safely.

The 18-year-old will now endorse the sports manufacturing giant, exclusively wear and promote their products in a move that will propel him into stardom as one of the Middle East and North Africa's leading sporting talents, despite only having made his professional debut a little over a year ago.

Abdelkarim has joined Nike’s glittering roster, which includes France captain and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, Portugal and Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and Manchester City’s powerhouse Norwegian striker, Erling Haaland.

Abdelkarim posted a video on his official Instagram account announcing his signing with the company. He captioned the video: "Pleased to join the Nike family."

Signing with a major sports company is a major milestone in any footballer’s career. Abdelkarim is also joined by his Egyptian teammate Omar Marmoush as part of the Nike athlete family.

Who is the 18-year-old rising star from Cairo?

Abdelkarim made headlines in February this year for his transfer from Cairo’s leading Al Ahly club to FC Barcelona’s reserve team, due to last until 30 June and with the option to buy at the end of the season.

The 18-year-old striker made history by becoming the first Egyptian to ever sign for a Barcelona side, notoriously known for prioritising homegrown Catalan talent.

Upon his signing, Abdelkarim said: "The feeling is great, I’m ready, I’m excited, I can't wait to be on the pitch."

"My goal is to give my all for this club, and hopefully make the first team, and represent this club in the best way possible."

The Egyptian striker is expected to sign for the club permanently, with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick recently saying that the youngster "could be an option" for next season and that he’s been keeping an eye on him.

Abdelkarim also made history with Al Ahly before joining Barcelona B, becoming the youngest-ever player to debut for the Cairo team in the 21st century.

The Egyptian prodigy’s place with the national team was confirmed over the weekend by coach Hossam Hassan following Egypt's friendly game with Russia. Abdelkarim was initially named as part of the squad's preliminary team a few weeks prior, but one player was due to be dropped before the Pharaohs left for North America for this month’s World Cup finals.

The 18-year-old’s inclusion, however, has raised some eyebrows, as he only has five minutes of international football under his belt, which came over the weekend in a friendly game against Russia.

But his impact and goalscoring for the youth team have impressed, along with his performance in training with the Blaugranas since he joined the club four months ago.

Abdelkarim has likely been given a chance to impress on the world stage as one of the world’s emerging and established young talents, along with Barcelona teammate and Spain international Lamine Yamal, Turkey’s Arda Guler, and Germany’s Lennart Karl.

His appearance at the World Cup could also pave the way for the Egyptian wunderkind crown, and follow in the footsteps of legendary striker Mido, who was capped for Egypt aged 17 in 2001.

According to the US-based NGO Vulnerable People Project (VPP), Israeli military vehicles entered Taybeh on Friday morning and ordered organisers preparing for the annual Catholic celebration honouring the Virgin Mary to stop their activities and leave the area.

The organisation said soldiers returned around 30 minutes later and repeated the order, while witnesses reported a stun grenade being deployed and increased military activity, including drones and a helicopter operating overhead.

The matter was eventually escalated through church channels to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who contacted Israeli authorities and secured permission for the festival to continue.

"A permitted Catholic festival honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary was nearly shut down by armed military intervention before it even began," Jason Jones, founder and president of the Vulnerable People Project, said in a statement.

The incident has heightened concerns among Palestinian Christians over the future of Taybeh, widely regarded as the last entirely Palestinian Christian town in the occupied West Bank.

"Taybeh: the West Bank's last fully Christian village is on the verge of erasure," Palestinian Christian human rights activist Ihab Hassan wrote on X.

He said church leaders and residents had been forced to escalate the issue until it reached Cardinal Pizzaballa and warned that villagers felt increasingly under pressure from both Israeli forces and settlers.

"Church leaders and residents are calling on the world to intervene before it's too late. They are under attack by the Israeli army and settlers. So far, no one seems to care as the attacks on the village continue," he added.

The incident has renewed fears among Palestinian Christians and church leaders that military restrictions, settler encroachment, land seizures and economic pressures are accelerating the decline of Christian communities in the Holy Land.

Palestinian Christian advocates have increasingly argued that Israeli occupation policies, settlement expansion and insecurity in communities such as Taybeh are driving Christians from their historic homeland.

Lex Pouliot, manager of Middle East projects for VPP, said the organisation had initially feared settlers might attempt to disrupt the celebration.

"Our fear this morning was that radical settlers would disrupt preparations for the Marian Festival. Instead, it was far more disturbing to watch the Israeli military intervene," he said.

"Hearing a stun grenade explode as Christians prepared for a permitted religious celebration brought into sharp focus the countless stories I have heard throughout my time in the West Bank. What I witnessed today should concern Christians around the world."

The latest incident comes amid mounting tensions in Taybeh.

In March, parish priest Fr Bashar Fawadleh warned that Israeli settlers had seized private land belonging to residents, including areas near the village's quarry and cement factory.

The concerns intensified in April when Cardinal Pizzaballa and other senior church leaders submitted a formal complaint to Israeli authorities over reported settler encroachments on church-owned land in the occupied West Bank.

VPP also said the latest incident followed a separate confrontation on Thursday in which Israeli soldiers allegedly entered a brewery in Taybeh and prevented its owner from accessing the premises.

Jones said Friday's events reflected a broader deterioration in conditions facing Palestinian Christians.

"The Christian community of Taybeh has endured escalating pressure for months, and today's events demonstrate how fragile religious freedom has become in the very land where Christianity was born," he said.

Church leaders and local residents have called for guarantees that religious celebrations in Taybeh can take place without disruption or fear in the future.

The Israeli military had not publicly commented on the allegations at the time of publication.

Buried in the House's version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released on Tuesday is section 224, entitled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative”.

The provision would arguably do more to intertwine the US military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation-adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the US since its founding in 1948.

Section 224 lays the groundwork for bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of US-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation.

The US and Israel already work together heavily on missile defence, but this provision would greatly expand coordination to seemingly every area of defence tech, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and many more.

It also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion.” In other words, the US military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data. 

If fully enacted, this proposal would provide a higher level of military-industrial integration than the US has with any other country in the world. To be sure, the US has worked closely with its NATO partners on co-production and shared supply chains, most notably via the Defence Production Action Plan.

And, as the number one arms dealer in the world, the US provides weapons to militaries across the globe. But that is mostly a one-way street, with the US providing weapons to foreign buyers who only occasionally make parts for those weapons themselves, as in the case of the F-35’s global supply chain. 

Section 224 would be a different beast entirely. It would fuse the US and Israeli defence sectors in multiple areas vital to the battlefields of the future, like autonomous systems and cyber.

It would also bring extraordinary Israeli influence to the US beyond what it already has through the Israel lobby and its robust network of social media influencers.

It would give the Israeli government the opportunity to greatly expand one of the most powerful levers of influence in US politics: jobs in the US. By expanding or starting new co-production facilities like it already has in Mississippi and Arkansas, the Israeli government could boast of providing jobs on US soil, thereby securing allies among members of Congress who represent the districts where those jobs lie.

The result could well be a US political system even more susceptible to the whims of an Israeli government that seemingly has no qualms about drawing the US into military conflicts in the Middle East.

This unprecedented level of US-Israeli military integration stands in stark contrast to the traditional aid model of defence cooperation, in which Israel already stood out as the top recipient of US military assistance.

As laid out in a recent Quincy Institute brief, authored by Steven Simon, this shift from an aid model to a military integration model has troubling implications.

“The shift will strip away the political and diplomatic oversight mechanisms that make the relationship publicly accountable, moving it from a visible annual aid vote into the opaque machinery of defense acquisition, where oversight is limited and political accountability is minimal,” Simon wrote.

“The result would be a defense relationship that is simultaneously deeper and less transparent.”

This all comes at a time when the Israeli military has repeatedly used US weapons in strikes that have violated international humanitarian laws in Gaza, and as Israel has repeatedly violated ceasefires (as has the US itself) in the Trump administration’s unnecessary war with Iran. 

The enormous gulf between what most Americans want and what the president is doing when it comes to Israel and what Congress is proposing here should not be ignored.

Just 30% of respondents to a New York Times/Siena poll from mid-May believe Trump made “the right decision” to go to war with Iran, with 64% saying it was wrong.

An Institute for Global Affairs poll released earlier this week dove even deeper into the American psyche when it comes to arming Israel, finding that “Just 16 percent say the United States should keep supplying Israel with weapons without new restrictions.

Thirty-eight percent want to stop supplying weapons entirely, and another 24 percent want weapons conditioned on how they’re used.”

Yet, mainstream leadership in both parties remains largely pro-Israel and continues to shape the base legislative text before amendments and broader congressional debate open it to the full body, as is the case with this NDAA provision. 

Though slowly, tides within both parties are shifting as more and more members speak out against the growing divide between Israel’s actions and America’s interests. For example, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wrote in The New York Times on Tuesday that, “The Democratic Party has provided reflexive and unconditional support to Israeli governments, even as their actions have increasingly undermined American interests and values.”

On the Republican side of the aisle, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) have openly decried the Israel lobby’s corrosive influence - a stance that may have, at least partially, cost both of them their seats in Congress.

What can other members of Congress who are concerned about Israel’s destabilising actions do right now? Stop the Israeli-US military-industrial merger in its tracks.

Lawmakers should reject Section 224 from the NDAA to avoid deep integration with Israel's military at a time when a growing number of Americans oppose Israel's actions in the region.

Ben Freeman is Director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute and the author of "The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home" (2025)

This article originally appeared on Responsible Statecraft

Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to open "new fronts" while an army spokesperson warned that Tehran "cannot tolerate" Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon.

Anger has grown among conservative circles and supporters of Iran's Revolutionary Guards over the lack of response to Israel's repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Israel has continued to bomb the country on a daily basis since the 16 April ceasefire with Hezbollah and further intensified the conflict over the weekend with a new ground offensive in the south. On Monday, it ordered residents of Beirut's southern suburbs to flee the area ahead of renewed airstrikes.

The escalation is threatening to torpedo efforts to end the regional war, with Iran's Tasnim news agency reporting on Monday that Tehran has suspended indirect negotiations with the US due to Israel's attack on Lebanon.

In a warning to Israeli leaders on Monday, Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi said that "the continuation of the brutal crimes in Lebanon is something the Iranian Armed Forces cannot tolerate," according to Tasnim.

He added that any violation of the ceasefire on one front constitutes a violation on all fronts, holding the US and Israel responsible for the consequences of any breach of the ceasefire.

"Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war," state media quoted the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organisation as saying.

"In return, it is determined to carry out defensive operations by taking meaningful actions and opening new fronts, in addition to preserving the Strait of Hormuz equation".

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, accused the US of breaching the ceasefire by allowing Israel to escalate its war against Hezbollah.

"The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire," he wrote in a post on X.

"Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that the 8 April ceasefire applied across the region and warned that a "violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts".

"The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation," he wrote on X.

At his weekly press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that Israel is seeking to escalate tensions in a bid to shut down a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

He said that Iran is closely monitoring the situation in Lebanon and will not hesitate to take any steps it considers necessary to defend its national security.

The warnings came as Iran and the US exchanged the heaviest strikes since the ceasefire came into effect.

The US said on Monday that it had hit radar and drone sites while Iran targeted a US military base in Kuwait. Iranian air defences shot down an American drone over the weekend.

The Israeli army announced it had taken control of the Crusader-era fortress, known in Arabic as Qalaat al-Shaqif, following days of heavy bombardment of surrounding villages in southern Lebanon.

Located around 700 metres above sea level near Nabatieh, the fortress overlooks large parts of southern Lebanon, the western Bekaa Valley and northern Israel.

Israel previously occupied the site during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon and maintained a military presence there until withdrawing from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Hours after Israeli officials celebrated the occupation, a Hezbollah explosive drone struck Israeli troops operating near the site, killing a soldier from the elite Maglan commando unit and wounding three others, including one seriously.

Israeli military figures show that 14 soldiers have been killed since a "ceasefire" was announced in April, 10 of them in drone attacks. The military has also acknowledged that 137 officers and soldiers have been wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon during the past two weeks.

Does occupying Beaufort change anything?

For retired Lebanese brigadier general and military analyst Bassam Yassin, the occupation of Beaufort was neither unexpected nor decisive.

"It was known from the beginning of the battle that Israel would eventually reach Beaufort," Yassin told The New Arab. "The capture of Beaufort does not change anything in the military equation. Hezbollah will continue launching drones and rockets. Why would that change?"

Yassin said claims that occupying the fortress would help curb Hezbollah's drone campaign misunderstood how the group's operations function.

"Drone launches can take place from anywhere," he said. "The issue is related to the range of the drones, fibre-optic guidance systems and other technical factors. The occupation of Beaufort does not change that."

While Yassin rejected suggestions that the occupation would alter the balance of power, he stressed that the site still carries geographical significance.

"Beaufort is not merely symbolic," he said.

Perched on a commanding ridge overlooking much of southern Lebanon, the fortress provides visibility over Israeli military positions stretching from Taybeh, Deir Siriane and Aantara towards the occupied Shebaa Farms, as well as routes linking the Bekaa Valley to southern Lebanon.

Israeli officials have similarly argued that control of the ridge provides an observation point over a large area of southern Lebanon and secures strategically important high ground.

Yet Yassin argued that holding the fortress alone provides only limited military value.

"Occupying a fortress on its own does not solve the problem because forces stationed there become vulnerable to attacks, especially against their supply lines," he told TNA.

He suggested the operation may indicate Israeli plans to expand its military presence into surrounding high ground that it occupied before withdrawing from southern Lebanon in 2000.

"I expect Israel to continue towards the higher mountainous areas it occupied before 2000," he said. "The fighting there is likely to intensify."

Hezbollah challenges Israel's victory narrative

Hezbollah also sought to challenge the Israeli narrative surrounding the occupation, describing it as a publicity exercise aimed at reassuring settlers in northern Israel amid mounting battlefield losses.

In a statement issued on Monday, the group's operations room said the Israeli army had spent more than five days carrying out intense air strikes and artillery bombardment on Yahmar al-Shaqif and surrounding villages in an effort to seize the area.

The group said Israeli troops encountered "fierce resistance" when attempting to advance from the southern approaches to the castle and instead entered from the rugged eastern side.

According to Hezbollah, the fortress itself had not contained any military presence belonging to the group.

"The enemy has found great difficulty in stabilising its forces in the vicinity of the castle," Hezbollah said.

The group added that Israeli forces positioned around the site were facing a war of attrition and said forthcoming battlefield footage would demonstrate the difficulties Israeli troops were encountering in maintaining their positions.

The occupation of Beaufort forms part of Israel's deepest advance into Lebanon in more than a quarter of a century. Israeli forces have pushed beyond the Litani River and now occupy large areas of southern Lebanon, with Netanyahu recently ordering troops to deepen and expand their hold over territory previously controlled by Hezbollah.

Israeli media question Beaufort's significance

The operation has also triggered debate inside Israel, where many questioned whether the occupation represents a genuine strategic gain or a symbolic victory designed to project momentum.

Writing in Haaretz, military analyst Amos Harel argued that public celebrations surrounding the occupation had overshadowed more pressing questions about Israel's strategy in Lebanon and its inability to counter Hezbollah's fibre-optic guided drones.

"Instead of asking necessary questions about the dubious strategy of the current campaign in the north and the lack of a tactical response to Hezbollah's fibre-optic guided drones, we received a nostalgic outpouring over the emotional return to historic sites," he wrote.

Harel argued that the occupation would neither eliminate Hezbollah's drone threat nor halt the rocket fire that has continued despite Israel's expanding offensive.

In a separate Haaretz opinion article, columnist Esther Solomon described the operation as "a stupid, futile waste of lives" and "the empty triumph of Israel's latest conquest in Lebanon", arguing that Netanyahu was using Beaufort as an opportunity to rewrite one of the most painful chapters in Israel's military history.

Similar criticism appeared in right-wing paper Maariv, where military correspondent Avi Ashkenazi described the occupation as "nothing more than a tactical event" and warned that Israel was being dragged into a war of attrition in Lebanon without a clear political strategy.

Quoting a senior Israeli officer, he wrote: "Let's put things into proportion. In the end, we captured another hill."

Centrist newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth's analyst Ron Ben-Yishai also questioned whether the occupation could address Hezbollah's broader military capabilities, arguing that any gains could quickly disappear if Israeli forces eventually withdrew and Hezbollah returned to the area.

Columnist Nahum Barnea argued that Beaufort's military importance had declined sharply since 1982 because modern drones no longer require observers positioned on mountaintops.

"What remains is the name, the symbol," he wrote, adding that it belonged "to the world of marketing, not the world of combat".

The debate comes amid a widening Israeli offensive that has exacted a heavy toll on Lebanon. According to Lebanon's health ministry, more than 3,400 people have been killed and over 10,000 wounded in Israeli attacks since 2 March.

On Sunday alone, Israeli strikes killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more across southern Lebanon, including women and children.

Uygur, co-creator and host of The Young Turks commentary program, and Piker, one of the world's most popular political streamers, both said their visas had been revoked days before a series of scheduled appearances in Britain, including events at SXSW London and the Oxford Union.

Uygur said he learned of the decision while attempting to board a flight to London on Sunday.

"I've been banned for criticising Israel," he wrote on X.

Piker later confirmed that his own visa had also been revoked, claiming the decision came "all at the behest of Israel".

"The West is betraying 'liberal values' for a genocidal fascist foreign government. Soon we will all become Israel," he wrote.

The Home Office confirmed to The New Arab that the pair had their visas revoked "on the grounds that their presence in the UK may not be conducive to the public good".

A spokesperson said the decision was reportedly "based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society", adding that individuals could submit a visa application if they still wished to travel to Britain.

The move has fuelled concerns among free speech advocates and pro-Palestinian campaigners, who argue that Western governments are increasingly targeting critics of Israel while continuing to support Israel's military campaign in Gaza and Lebanon.

Uygur described the decision as "absurd" and "Kafkaesque", saying he had been barred not for criticising Britain but for criticising Israel.

"This is crazy. So now in Western governments we're allowed to criticise Western governments, we're allowed to criticise our own government, we're allowed to criticise anything we like, except the government of Israel," he said in a YouTube video.

"If you don't think that's insane, there's something wrong with you."

The two commentators had been scheduled to speak at several events in Britain this week. Uygur was due to appear at SXSW London on Wednesday, while Piker was set to speak on Thursday.

Both were also due to appear at the Oxford Union on Saturday, while Uygur was scheduled to give a separate lecture hosted by Oxford Speaks at Exeter College on Friday.

The New Arab has contacted SXSW London, the Oxford Union and Oxford Speaks for comment.

Ash Sarkar, contributing editor at Novara Media and the moderator scheduled to chair Piker's SXSW discussion, called on organisers to facilitate the pair's participation remotely.

"As a bare minimum refusal to comply with government censorship," she wrote on X.

Sarkar argued that "it's abundantly clear that the UK government has put Israel at the heart of its policymaking around free expression".

The decision was also criticised by several UK politicians who were reportedly scheduled to appear with Piker during his planned visit, including Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who was due to feature alongside him on Bold Politics, and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn, who had been set to join him for an interview with PoliticsJOE.

Polanski described the move as "grim", while Corbyn called it "an absurd and cowardly decision from an increasingly authoritarian government".

The controversy comes after Labour MP David Taylor publicly called on the government to bar Piker from entering Britain, alleging that his presence would not be "conducive to the public good", according to The Guardian.

The newspaper also reported that the Community Security Trust (CST), a British Jewish security organisation, had pressed British authorities to deny Piker entry over allegations that he had reportedly "minimised atrocities" and expressed support for "extremist groups".

Piker has become a frequent target of pro-Israel groups and commentators over his outspoken criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights.

He has consistently rejected accusations of antisemitism, arguing that opposition to Israel's military actions in Gaza and support for Palestinian rights should not be conflated with hostility towards Jewish people.

During an appearance at the Oxford Union in 2024, Piker also warned about rising antisemitism in Western societies while criticising Israel's conduct in Gaza.

Hamid Tawbe has been missing under the ruins of his home in the town of Burj Qalaway since last week, following intense Israeli bombardment despite a ceasefire that formally remains in effect.

His family has appealed to the Lebanese army and the international community to intervene after losing contact with him at around 10 am on Thursday following a wave of Israeli air strikes, according to local media reports.

Relatives say search and rescue teams have been unable to reach the site because the mechanism, the US-led committee responsible for monitoring the cessation of hostilities agreement between Lebanon and Israel, has yet to grant the necessary clearance.

The case has become a symbol of growing anger in Lebanon over delays affecting humanitarian and rescue operations in southern areas repeatedly targeted by Israeli attacks.

"The Mechanism 'has not granted permission for life-saving interventions' is a sentence that we're hearing more frequently now, and it is not right," Cilina Nasser, a human rights expert and former UN investigator, told The New Arab, noting that "Hamid Tawbe's case is not an isolated incident."

 

 

 

 

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The mechanism was established following the November 2024 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah and includes representatives from Lebanon, the United States, France, Israel and UNIFIL.

Its mandate is to monitor and facilitate the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement, coordinate security arrangements and oversee aspects of the ceasefire.

However, its role has come under increasing scrutiny since Israel resumed its large-scale military campaign in Lebanon on 2 March.

One of the main points of contention is the requirement for coordination before rescue teams, humanitarian workers and Lebanese authorities can enter certain areas deemed sensitive or exposed to Israeli attacks.

In some cases, aid deliveries, recovery operations and searches for missing people have reportedly been delayed for hours or even days while approvals are sought.

Nasser said the mechanism's official role remains limited.

"The Mechanism's mandate is to monitor and facilitate the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement that went into effect on 27 November 2024," she said.

"De facto, the Mechanism is the channel between the Israeli army, the United States and the Lebanese army, so we cannot say that its role has become operational control."

At the same time, she warned that the committee risks damaging its credibility when life-saving operations are delayed.

"By relaying messages of Israeli decisions that are in clear contravention of international humanitarian law, the Mechanism risks being seen as involved or participating in decisions that are incompatible with core humanitarian principles," she said.

"Can you imagine how damaging for its credibility when rescue workers and families of casualties say, 'we are still waiting for the Mechanism to grant us permission' to carry out a search and rescue operation, and such permission does not come for hours or for days?" Nasser said.

"The point is that life-saving missions are given protection and unhindered access to conflict areas under international law. They are being delayed for hours and sometimes days," she added.

Mechanism under scrutiny

The ceasefire mechanism has become increasingly controversial in Lebanon as Israel continues its offensive despite the truce agreement. Many accuse the committee of failing to halt Israeli violations while creating additional obstacles for humanitarian operations on the ground.

A source in the Lebanese military told The New Arab that the army does not seek permission from the committee before carrying out operations.

"The army does not take permission from the mechanism committee, but communication and coordination must be carried out before entering places considered highly sensitive or subjected to Israeli bombardment in order to secure safe entry and avoid attacks," the source said.

The source added that coordination is conducted primarily with US officials, while French representatives are also involved in communications.

Other actors, including UNIFIL, have also communicated directly with the mechanism when access is required to border areas.

Bahaa Halal, a researcher in military affairs and strategic relations, said a distinction must be made between the committee's formal mandate and the practical role it has come to play during the war.

He noted that, from a legal perspective, the mechanism has no sovereignty over Lebanese territory and was never intended to replace Lebanese state institutions.

Nevertheless, he said ambulances, rescue teams and even the Lebanese army often find themselves relying on coordination through the mechanism to avoid being targeted during Israeli bombardment.

"Coordination has turned from a security measure into a tool of political and military influence, and this is what happened in the case of journalist Amal Khalil," Halal said.

"The question is, does the Lebanese Army, civil defence, or the Red Cross have the right to act as sovereign owners of their land, or is their action practically conditional on the approval of an international mechanism?"

According to Tasnim, no further talks will take place until Iran's demands for an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Gaza are met.

The agency also reported that Iran and what it described as the "resistance front" have adopted a strategy aimed at completely blocking the Strait of Hormuz and activating other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait

This comes after Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that negotiations with the US are taking place in an atmosphere of "deep mistrust", while confirming that messages continue to be exchanged between the two sides despite ongoing disagreements over the direction of talks.

Speaking during his weekly press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had entered negotiations fully aware that they would take place under conditions of distrust.

"Iran knew from the outset that it was negotiating in an atmosphere of distrust," Baghaei said, adding that the continued exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington was also occurring within that framework.

Baghaei said diplomacy was "not a substitute for strength" and argued that negotiations do not depend on trust between parties.

"When the other side constantly changes its positions and puts forward contradictory demands, it is natural that this would disrupt and prolong the negotiating process," he said, referring to amendments US President Donald Trump reportedly sought to introduce into a memorandum of understanding being negotiated between the two countries.

He urged Washington to reach a "clear decision" as soon as possible, saying what he described as contradictory American positions would not divert Tehran from its core objectives.

"These contradictions may, as some describe them, be part of their negotiating style," Baghaei said, adding that such an approach would not be effective with Iran.

Baghaei also revealed that one section of the memorandum of understanding addresses reconstruction following the war, including discussions on allocating funding to rebuild damaged areas.

"At this stage, I can explain the issue only to this extent," he said.

He added that if agreement is reached on 14 key clauses, their details would then be discussed over a period of between 30 and 60 days.

Responding to claims by Trump that an agreement had been reached regarding Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, Baghaei denied that nuclear talks were currently underway.

"At this stage, our focus is on ending the war," he said. "No nuclear negotiations have taken place, and if it becomes necessary for us to act on nuclear issues, we know ourselves how to proceed."

Baghaei also said Iranian armed forces had targeted a US military base in Kuwait early on Monday, which he described as "the source of the American aggressive action".

The remarks came after Iranian officials announced a retaliatory strike following recent US attacks on Iranian military facilities.

Kuwaiti authorities said air defence systems intercepted incoming missiles and drones and condemned the attack as a violation of the country's sovereignty, while US officials said there were no reported casualties.

He accused Washington of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and said Iran remained committed to taking whatever measures it deemed necessary to preserve it.

Baghaei also accused Israel of seeking to escalate tensions across the region.

"The Zionist entity is seeking to escalate tensions," he said, arguing that Israeli actions in Lebanon were aimed at obstructing diplomatic efforts.

He further accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire in Lebanon while the United Nations and Security Council remained "mere spectators".

Baghaei said Israel continued to commit "the most horrific crimes" in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories, warning that continued impunity for what he described as acts of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide would have consequences for regional and international security.

Commenting on remarks by NATO officials regarding possible involvement in the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei warned against any action that could further destabilise the Gulf.

"Any party possessing wisdom would not accept such a gamble," he said.

He added that NATO and other international actors should instead focus on pressuring the United States and Israel to change their behaviour.

His comments have reignited debate over Israel's long-term goals in Gaza, raising questions over whether they signal a gradual reoccupation or serve as political rhetoric aimed at managing domestic pressure, negotiations, and the evolving dynamics of the war.

The controversial statements come amid a highly fluid military and political landscape.

Despite the October 2025 ceasefire, the situation in Gaza remains volatile, with ongoing Israeli military actions, a worsening humanitarian crisis, and an ongoing deadlock over the phased truce deal.

While signalling an imminent escalation, Palestinian analysts see Netanyahu’s remarks more as part of Israel’s internal political dynamics, particularly as coalition pressures grow and debates over the war’s future linger, all amid the possibility of early elections.

From the 'Yellow Line' to 70%: A changing reality

According to Israel's Channel 12, Netanyahu said that "Israel currently controls 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip, and my instruction is to move toward 70 per cent control".

He did not specify what this expansion would include, leaving room for interpretation about Israel's next steps.

The statement follows gradual shifts in Gaza’s military map. Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces initially withdrew to the so-called "Yellow Line," placing control at about 53 per cent.

That arrangement soon became fluid, with control later expanding to about 60 per cent, which Israel called the "Orange Line," amid delays in implementing later ceasefire phases and continued military operations.

Against this backdrop, Palestinian analysts question whether Israel is subtly redefining control in Gaza without a reoccupation, or instead using purported new plans as leverage with Hamas via regional mediators.

Speaking with The New Arab, analysts said that the "70 per cent control" reference is less about military feasibility and more about shaping bargaining positions in stalled talks.

"The message aims to pressure Hamas amid deadlock over governance, reconstruction, and the day after scenario," Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political analyst, told TNA.

Expanding control as a pressure tool

Hamas, for its part, said that Netanyahu's statements were part of a broader strategy to undermine the ceasefire agreement and impose new realities on the ground under military cover.

In its official statements, the movement has described any expansion of Israeli control as a "serious violation" of the ceasefire signed in October 2025, warning that continued escalation could lead to the collapse of the truce and a return to full-scale confrontation.

Hamas argued that Israel's recent military actions, including targeted assassinations of field commanders and ongoing strikes on displacement areas, are linked to efforts to reshape the negotiating environment rather than isolated battlefield operations.

It highlighted restrictions on humanitarian aid and civilian movement as a strategy to deepen the crisis and influence political outcomes.

Hamas has rejected efforts to impose a new Gaza government from which it would be excluded, calling the proposals “indirect political surrender”. It has instead contacted mediators such as Egypt, Qatar, and the US to try to prevent the ceasefire’s collapse and avoid any further escalation.

Netanyahu: Between coalition politics and the battlefield

Mustafa Ibrahim said Netanyahu's rhetoric is linked to domestic politics, where the Gaza war is impacting his coalition’s stability amid far-right pressure and looming elections.

Netanyahu has consistently used the war as a tool for his own political survival, he argues.

"Talk of occupying Gaza resonates strongly with right-wing constituencies that demand decisive victory," he said. “At the same time, a full reoccupation would mean Israel taking responsibility for more than two million Palestinians in a devastated territory."

While the Israeli army may be capable of expanding control on the ground, the central challenge lies in governing and sustaining such control over time, particularly given Israel’s historical experience in Gaza.

Palestinian political analyst Akram Atallah agrees with this assessment, saying that the most likely scenario is continued partial or expanded military control without a formal reoccupation.

"Netanyahu is trying to balance competing pressures: demands from the political right for decisive outcomes, and operational, economic, and security constraints on the ground," he said.

Atallah added that a full reoccupation would carry high costs for Israel, not only in terms of security but also in managing civilian life amid a severe humanitarian collapse and the continued presence of organised resistance structures despite sustained military strikes.

He noted that Israeli escalation rhetoric often intensifies in parallel with indirect negotiations.

"The threat of expanding control serves as a negotiating tool to increase pressure on Hamas and shape the terms of any future agreement," he said.

Atallah pointed out that "military rhetoric is being used as part of the negotiation management strategy, where harsher alternatives are placed on the table to force concessions".

At the same time, he explained, there are factions within Israel’s political system that genuinely view the war as an opportunity to fundamentally reshape Gaza’s political and security landscape.

This is reflected in the growing influence of hard-right coalition figures who openly advocate for long-term Israeli security control or even the re-establishment of settlements, underscoring the ideological dimension shaping parts of Israel’s decision-making process.

Meanwhile, Gaza-based political analyst Hussam al-Dajani told TNA that continued US political and military support gives Israel substantial room for manoeuvre, limiting external pressure that might otherwise constrain the trajectory of the war.

He said that as Israeli control on the ground gradually expands and political rhetoric escalates, Gaza is entering a more complex and uncertain phase in which military realities and political calculations are increasingly intertwined.

"Unfortunately, Palestinian civilians are forced to bear the heaviest cost of a conflict marked by widening and unpredictable trajectories, without any near-term solution, meaning they will remain under the current conditions for a long time," he added.

Sally Ibrahim is a Palestinian reporter based in the Gaza Strip

Edited by Charlie Hoyle

The parade, held along Fifth Avenue, took place as Israel continues its wars in Gaza and Lebanon, drawing senior Israeli politicians, pro-Israel organisations and prominent US political figures to an event that has become increasingly contentious amid the devastation and continued bombardment of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The event unfolded without Mamdani, whose decision not to attend broke with a long-standing political tradition observed by successive New York mayors.

The city's first Muslim and Asian American mayor has repeatedly condemned Israel's genocide in Gaza and previously said he would comply with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should the Israeli leader visit New York.

Among the Israeli officials attending was far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has repeatedly called for the destruction of Gaza, denied the existence of a Palestinian people and advocated annexing the occupied West Bank. Smotrich has been sanctioned by several European countries over his remarks and is reportedly among Israeli officials being examined by the ICC for possible arrest warrants.

Joining him was Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, who has previously drawn criticism for remarks widely interpreted as encouraging violence against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu also took part in the parade. Eliyahu has called for Gaza to be "erased" and repopulated by Jews, opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and supports Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Likud lawmaker Ariel Kellner, who previously called for a new Nakba in Gaza and supports Israeli settlement expansion into southern Lebanon, was also among those marching.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana participated as well, having previously endorsed US President Donald Trump's proposal to redevelop Gaza and relocate its Palestinian population, describing the plan as a "bold, new vision".

Their participation came as Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza, where more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 according to figures cited by Palestinian authorities, while much of the enclave has been rendered uninhabitable through sustained bombardment and siege.

The parade was also attended by several prominent US politicians, including Senator Chuck Schumer, Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, former New York mayors Michael Bloomberg and Eric Adams, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Pro-Israel organisations, including Zionist Horizon and Jewish Vision for Israel, also took part in the event, which has long been regarded as a showcase of support for Israel in the United States.

Among the symbols displayed during the parade was the flag of the Golani Brigade, an Israeli military unit linked to some of the most controversial incidents of the war in Gaza.

The brigade was involved in the massacre of 15 Palestinian paramedics in Rafah in March 2025, when Israeli forces opened fire on two ambulance convoys and later buried the bodies in a mass grave, in one of the deadliest attacks on medical workers during the war.

Mamdani boycotts

Mamdani's absence drew sharp criticism from pro-Israel politicians and activists, many of whom have repeatedly targeted him over his support for Palestinian rights and his criticism of Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Following the parade, pro-Israel social media accounts circulated AI-generated images falsely depicting Mamdani and his wife, Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji, attending the event, while mocking the couple.

Ohana accused the mayor of "fanning the flames of hatred" against Israel and New York's Jewish community by refusing to attend.

Mamdani has rejected such accusations and has repeatedly engaged with Jewish communities across the city, including through meetings with progressive Jewish leaders and appearances at synagogues during and after his mayoral campaign.

The parade also drew opposition from anti-Zionist Orthodox Jewish activists, who staged a counter-demonstration nearby.

Protesters carried banners reading "Jews Worldwide Mourn 78 Years of the Existence of Israel" and "Authentic Rabbis Always Against Zionism and the State of Israel", while some burned Israeli flags in protest at Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Since September, France has boarded three other ships believed to belong to the shadow fleet, used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions on its fossil fuel exports imposed over the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Tagor was detained on Sunday morning in international waters with the help of Britain and other partners, after its Russian captain refused to comply with orders, prosecutors said.

President Emmanuel Macron posted a video of the seizure showing commandos rappelling from a helicopter onto the ship.

"We consider these acts illegal. They border on international piracy," said President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

"Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo".

Suspected of carrying Russian or Iranian oil despite international sanctions, the Tagor is linked to petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, according to open-source database Opensanctions.org.

According to French authorities, the Tagor was on its way from Murmansk in northwestern Russia when it was boarded.

The ship was falsely flying a Cameroonian flag and was heading toward Limbe, a seaside city in the west of the African country, said a spokesperson for France's Atlantic maritime prefecture.

Shadow fleet vessels frequently change the flags they fly, a practice known as flag-hopping, or use invalid registrations in an attempt to escape tracking.

"It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years," Macron said on X.

'Stepping up response' 

The UK Ministry of Defence said a British helicopter had "provided tracking and monitoring in support of the French operation to board the tanker Tagor".

"We are stepping up our response to shadow vessels—to choke off the funds that fuel Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine," a ministry spokesperson said.

The Atlantic maritime prefecture said the interception had taken place more than 400 nautical miles (740 kilometres) west of Brittany.

"The examination of the documents confirmed doubts about the irregularity of the flag being flown," the prefecture said.

The ship, which had 23 crew members, was "being escorted by the French navy to an anchorage point for further checks", the prefecture said.

When asked about the tanker's ties to Shamkhani, officials declined to comment.

Shamkhani is the son of security official Ali Shamkhani, who was an adviser to the former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, both of whom were killed on 28 February, the first day of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Boarding 'proved necessary'

The Russian embassy in France said it had requested information about the crew's composition.

"No notifications have been provided by the French side regarding actions taken against this vessel," the embassy said.

The tanker, which is under EU and US sanctions, has flown the flags of Madagascar, the Marshall Islands and Panama.

Prosecutors said that "taking control of the vessel proved necessary".

The prosecutor's office in the northwestern city of Brest said a criminal investigation had been opened for failure to prove a vessel's nationality, the absence of a flag, and refusal to comply.

"It is a vessel that was known and tracked," Guillaume Le Rasle, spokesman for the Atlantic maritime prefecture, told AFP.

"The objective of the diversion is to verify the validity of its flag," he added.

The three other ships France has detained since September on suspicion of belonging to the shadow fleet were allowed to sail after their owners paid fines.

In April, France announced a plan to double penalties for ships that fail to fly a flag or refuse to comply.

Several Western countries have imposed sanctions on hundreds of vessels in Russia's shadow fleet over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Nearly 600 ships suspected of belonging to the fleet are subject to European Union sanctions.

The defendants, former Raqqa State Security chief Khaled al-Halabi and former deputy head of the province's Political Security branch Musab Abu Rakba, are accused of ordering, facilitating or failing to prevent the torture and abuse of at least 21 detainees between 2011 and 2013, during the early years of Syria's uprising.

Vienna prosecutors allege the abuses formed part of a broader campaign of repression carried out by Assad's security apparatus against members of the civilian protest movement.

Al-Halabi headed the State Security branch in Raqqa between 2009 and 2013, while Abu Rakba served as deputy head of the province's Political Security branch.

When charges were first brought against al-Halabi, Syrian activists described him as the highest-ranking former Syrian intelligence official residing in Europe to face prosecution over alleged crimes committed during Syria's uprising.

According to Austrian prosecutors, the pair face charges including torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion and causing serious bodily harm, offences carrying sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

The trial is expected to run across 13 hearing days until 30 June, with alleged victims from Syria and Europe expected to testify.

For Syrian activists, the case represents one of the most significant attempts yet to hold senior Assad-era security officials accountable in Europe.

"It is a very important message to perpetrators of torture and killings that they will be indicted regardless of how much time has passed," Bassam Al-Kuwatli, president of Ahrar, the Syrian Liberal Party, told The New Arab. "It is important as well in light of the unreasonable delays in starting the transitional justice process in Syria.

"It sends a message that European governments are doing the work that Syria should have started doing," he added. "I hope that the Syrian government takes note and expedites the stalled process."

Several Syrian activists and lawyers have questioned why the defendants are not facing crimes against humanity charges.

Anwar al-Bunni, a Syrian lawyer based in Germany who spent five years in Syrian prisons, told AFP that while the trial was important, he did not understand why prosecutors had not pursued crimes against humanity charges.

Al-Kuwatli echoed those concerns, noting that they should be charged with crimes against humanity.

"It seems that the previous agreement allowing them to move to Austria without accountability is still partially effective," he said.

His remarks refer to allegations surrounding "Operation White Milk", a covert intelligence arrangement that reportedly facilitated al-Halabi's relocation to Austria in 2015.

According to Austrian media reports and previous investigations, al-Halabi was transferred from France to Austria under an arrangement allegedly involving Austrian intelligence officials and Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.

Reports suggested he was considered a valuable intelligence source even though the arrangement allowed him to avoid scrutiny despite longstanding allegations relating to torture and abuses in Raqqa.

Senior Austrian officials accused of helping al-Halabi obtain protection in Austria were cleared in 2023 due to insufficient evidence.

The case resurfaced after the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), an organisation that collects evidence against suspected war criminals, alerted Austrian authorities to allegations against al-Halabi.

The trial comes as Syria's new authorities face mounting pressure to establish a credible transitional justice process following the fall of Assad's government.

A panel of international arbitrators has rejected a multimillion-dollar claim by Rwanda against the United Kingdom linked to a refugee resettlement deal that Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped immediately after taking office in 2024.

The deal, struck in 2022 by Starmer's predecessor, Rishi Sunak, involved sending migrants who arrive in the UK as stowaways or in boats to the East African country. It included arrangements for payments to Rwanda to help cover costs. Starmer's home secretary at the time the deal was scrapped, Yvette Cooper, called it the "most shocking waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen."

The Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected two Rwandan claims, each for 50 million pounds ($67 million), linked to funding for the cancelled deal. The decision was dated May 15, but formally announced by the Hague-based panel on Monday. It also rejected two other Rwandan claims linked to alleged breaches by the UK of the pact.

In a 76-page ruling, the panel said that written diplomatic exchanges between the two countries after Starmer scrapped the deal amounted to an agreement that the UK would not make the two 50 million-pound payments, due in April of 2025 and 2026, to cover the costs of migrant relocations.

Under the deal, migrants were to be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would stay. Britain's Supreme Court ruled that the policy was unlawful because Rwanda is not a safe third country for migrants sent there.

The British government said in a statement: "The UK robustly defended its position, and the tribunal has now ruled in favour of the UK on all grounds."

It added that Starmer's under-fire government is "now focused on delivering vital reforms to restore order and control to our borders, including removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain and scaling up removals of those with no right to be here.”

There was no immediate response from Rwanda.

The creator of India's satirical "Cockroach People's Party" vowed on Monday to lead a protest in New Delhi to take the viral social media campaign to the streets.

The parody "Cockroach Janta Party" (CJP)—echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—has won millions of online followers on social media sites since its launch last month.

It was set up after Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly called young people who criticised the government "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a hearing.

Kant later said his comments were taken out of context and that he was referring to those who use fake degrees.

Abhijeet Dipke, the 30-year-old Boston University graduate behind the online movement, said on social media platform X he would return to India to lead a "peaceful protest" on Saturday.

He called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has faced criticism over alleged irregularities in several key examinations.

"Students have committed suicide and the hard work of tens of thousands of students has been destroyed," Dipke said in a video message posted online.

Social media handles of the CJP, which calls itself "a political front for the youth, by the youth, for the youth", have been blocked repeatedly in India.

Its Instagram handle has more than 22 million followers; more than double the BJP's 9.5 million on the same site, and the main opposition Congress Party's 13.9 million.

Dipke called on followers to meet him at New Delhi airport before accompanying him to seek police permission for a demonstration.

"My friends and family are afraid that I will be arrested right at the airport and then sent to jail," he said. "But I still hope that our country is still a democracy today and that we will be granted permission to protest peacefully."

Critics have repeatedly accused Modi's government of using state institutions to stifle dissent.

Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said they had instructed the military to strike targets in Beirut's southern suburbs, locally known as Dahiyeh, claiming the move was in response to repeated Hezbollah "violations" of the ceasefire and attacks on Israeli towns.

The threat prompted residents of Dahiyeh to flee parts of the area, while Lebanese media reported Israeli drones flying at low altitude over the district, which had largely been spared Israeli attacks in recent weeks following reported US pressure on Israel to avoid striking Beirut.

The increased violence comes despite renewed diplomatic efforts to restore a ceasefire. A US official told Reuters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had separately spoken with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu and proposed a roadmap for gradual de-escalation.

Under the proposal, Hezbollah would halt attacks on Israel. At the same time, Israel would refrain from escalating military operations in Beirut; however, it would continue its offensive in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have killed thousands of people, displaced hundreds of thousands and destroyed large swathes of towns and villages.

The official said the plan was intended to create "conditions" for a gradual reduction in hostilities and an alleged eventual cessation of fighting.

According to the official, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri indicated that Hezbollah would abide by a ceasefire, but insisted that Israel must halt its attacks first, questioning what guarantees existed that Israel would honour any ceasefire agreement.

Israel expands ground offensive in southern Lebanon

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu held a second security consultation in less than 24 hours to discuss expanding military operations from ground offensives in southern Lebanon to an aerial campaign targeting Beirut.

Earlier reports said Israeli officials were awaiting a "green light" from Washington regarding requests to widen the scope of military operations, including potential strikes on the Lebanese capital.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced a series of attacks against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, including the downing of an Israeli Hermes 450 drone and a barrage of rockets and artillery shells targeting Israeli troops near Yahmar al-Shaqif.

The Israeli military announced that a soldier from the elite Maglan commando unit was killed and three others wounded, one critically, in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon.

Israeli media reported growing concern within the military over Hezbollah's increasing use of explosive-laden drones equipped with thermal cameras capable of operating at night.

Reports said the group had carried out two successful nighttime drone attacks against Israeli forces within 48 hours.

Hezbollah said it had conducted 21 military operations over the previous 24 hours, targeting Israeli troops, tanks, military vehicles, helicopter landing sites and positions across southern Lebanon, including areas surrounding Beaufort Castle, which Israeli forces seized on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli strike on Deir al-Zahrani killed eight people, including three women, and wounded 19 others, among them five children.

The National News Agency later reported that six people were killed in Israeli strikes on Briqaa, Toul and Kfarsir.

The Israeli military also issued evacuation threats for several towns south of the Zahrani River, ordering residents to move north as bombardment intensified.

President Joseph Aoun condemned a "fierce and condemned Israeli aggression" against Lebanon and vowed to continue efforts to end the suffering of Lebanese people, particularly residents of the south.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Israel's military escalation had reduced the space for diplomacy, while Qatar condemned the expansion of Israeli operations in Lebanon.

France requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday to discuss the worsening situation.

As of 30 May, the Lebanese health ministry announced that at least 3,371 people were killed and 10,129 wounded by Israeli attacks.  

British ministers braced on Monday for the release of potentially embarrassing documents relating to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to the US.

Hundreds of files expected to run to more than 1,000 pages were to be published on Monday as the scandal over Mandelson's links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returns to plague Starmer and his embattled Labour administration.

It will be the second tranche of documents to be published, covering Mandelson's brief stint in Washington last year, which ended after the extent of his friendship with Epstein was revealed.

"The volume of information that's going to be put out is unprecedented," government minister James Murray told Sky News.

The documents are expected to include messages between Mandelson and ministers and government advisers, including Starmer's former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who resigned for advising the prime minister to make the appointment.

The government has said it is withholding some documents on the advice of police, who are investigating Mandelson over alleged misconduct in office more than a decade ago.

Mandelson is accused of leaking sensitive information to billionaire financier Epstein during his time as a government minister. He denies wrongdoing. Epstein died in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Members of parliament voted in February to force the government to publish documents about Mandelson's appointment.

Documents released in March revealed Starmer was warned that Mandelson, a Labour Party veteran, posed a "general reputational risk" because of his connection to Epstein, but appointed him anyway.

Starmer's decision to give Mandelson the plum diplomatic post in December 2024, and then sack him nine months later, has dogged his flagging premiership in recent months.

It contributed towards dire election results in Scotland, Wales and England last month, which triggered calls from dozens of Labour lawmakers for Starmer to resign.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is contesting a special election to return to parliament later this month that is widely believed to be a precursor to challenging Starmer for the party leadership.

Starmer has apologised for appointing Mandelson, as well as to the women trafficked by Epstein, but has refused to quit.

The controversy has claimed the jobs of Starmer's former chief of communications and the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, who the prime minister fired for not telling him or other ministers that Mandelson had not passed security checks for the role.

Abdulhamid, who won the French Cup this year, is the only player based abroad in the Saudi squad for the event, which will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July.

Al Hilal's Al Dawsari, the 2025 AFC player of the year, is set to feature at his third World Cup, having debuted in 2018 and played in the 2022 edition.

Greek coach Donis will rely on 34-year-old goalkeeper Mohamed Al Owais, who played four games in his two World Cup appearances, while Al Hilal defender Hassan Tambakti and teammate midfielder Mohamed Kanno will lend experience.

Al Qadsiah midfielder Mohammed Abu Alshamat will make it to the finals, while his twin brother Saleh, who plays for Asian champions Al Ahli, was not included in the final list.

Saudi Arabia lost their first game under Donis 2-1 to Ecuador in a friendly on Sunday and will face Puerto ​Rico ⁠and Senegal in their final warm-ups for the World Cup.

They open their Group H campaign against Uruguay in Miami on June 15, before facing ⁠Spain ​in Atlanta on June ​21 and Cape Verde in Houston on June 26.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Nawaf Al Aqidi, Mohamed Al Owais, Ahmed Alkassar

Defenders: Saud Abdulhamid, Jehad Thakri, Abdulelah Al Amri, Hassan Tambakti, Ali Lajami, Hassan Kadesh, Moteb Al Harbi, Nawaf Boushal, Ali Majrashi, Mohammed Abu Alshamat

Midfielders: Ziyad Al Johani, Nasser Al Dawsari, Mohamed Kanno, Abdullah Al Khaibari, Alaa Al Hejji, Musab Al Juwayr, Sultan Mandash, Ayman Yahya, Khalid Al Ghannam

Forwards: Salem Al Dawsari, Abdullah Al Hamdan, Feras Al Brikan, Saleh Al Shehri 

When I first arrived in the United Kingdom, my mind was still trapped in prison. I saw the faces of friends who had been executed. I heard the firing squad and the sounds of my fellow prisoners being tortured.  

Therapy at Freedom from Torture helped me slowly rebuild my life. Over time, I began to feel safe again. In the past five years, the organisation has supported more survivors from Iran than any other country. These are men and women who have endured some of the most unimaginable forms of brutality.

Reports of ongoing abuses coming out of Iran are deeply triggering because we know exactly what the regime is capable of. And with this latest wave of protests and conflict, many more survivors are likely to desperately need the same specialist clinical support that helped me recover. 

I was lucky. I escaped. I had the chance to heal and start again. But my heart aches for the women and men still enduring the same torture I suffered.  

But when the global media spotlight is placed on individual prisoners in Iran, the regime often eases the pressure. Public attention can save lives.

In the last few weeks reports emerged that Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has written of the torture she has suffered in prison, was seriously ill and being denied medical treatment. Finally, authorities temporarily suspended her sentence and released her on bail. I am relieved she is finally receiving the support she needs. 

But her case exposes a cruel reality: countless prisoners remain behind bars. Many have died because they were denied medical treatment. Many more have suffered for years in silence. 

Too often, the international community’s focus is on geopolitical power struggles rather than the devastation wrought on the lives of ordinary people. I wish there was more attention on those condemned to execution and those denied their most basic rights. 

Today, during the recent escalation and war, the human rights situation has become even worse. Executions are now surging as the war provides an opportunity to intensify repression. And I have seen this before.  

In 1988, as the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq came to an end, I witnessed the regime carry out the mass execution of political prisoners across the country. I fear history is repeating itself. 

The regime showed its hand during the recent nationwide demonstrations in December (2025) and January (2026) when it unleashed lethal force on protestors. Thousands of people are reported to have been killed by the regime's bullets.

The war has brought more death and destruction. Loved ones, homes and jobs have all been lost. Once again, it is the Iranian people who are paying the price. 

Since the US and Israel struck Iran on 28 February 2026, over 4,000 people in the country have been arrested on national security charges. Many have been disappeared and tortured. Political prisoners have been executed and reports of forced “confessions”, extracted through torture are common. These tactics are not new ones. The regime has often labelled dissidents as foreign agents. 

The Iranian regime does not want the world to know about its abuses. That is why we must keep talking about those on death row after torture-tainted “confessions”, those who are tortured for simply standing up for their rights, and those left to languish in prison without medical care. By speaking their names, we help them stay alive. 

The media also has a vital role to play in keeping a spotlight on my country so that those fighting for their rights are not forgotten and abuses cannot be hidden in the shadows. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian people in their struggle for a life free from torture.

Nasrin Parvaz is an activist and author. Her works include ‘One Woman's Struggle in Iran, A Prison Memoir’ (Award-Winner in the Women’s Issues category of the 2019 International Book Awards), and ‘The Secret Letters from X to A’, (Victorina Press 2018). Nasrin has also written for The Guardian, The Morning star, LBC and Huck magazine among others.

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@alaraby.co.uk.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.

The first-time candidate, who is leading in the polls, is running on a platform of universal healthcare and affordability, tapping into nationwide frustration over high prices, stagnant wages, exorbitant healthcare costs, and foreign wars.

"It's important for me to run. I have a unique experience being a veteran and a doctor. I’ve seen the effects of policy on everyday people," Hamawy tells The New Arab in an interview before the New Jersey primary, which he joined following the retirement of Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has served for six terms.

"As we enter another time of war, it's important to think of all the communities that are impacted. All policy decisions are happening in Washington," he said.

The full-time physician is part of a growing trend of political candidates running in high-level races coming from careers outside of politics. Other elected officials in recent years to leap include Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who worked as a bartender, a filmmaker and a pastor, respectively.

Hamawy, whose parents emigrated from Egypt to the US when he was a baby, grew up in the district where he is now running for office. He was able to benefit from a high-quality education, an area where he has seen cutbacks for his children's generation.

He became closely acquainted with the US healthcare system while working as a physician in New Jersey. Also, as a doctor serving abroad, including with the US military in Iraq and, more recently, on humanitarian missions in Gaza, he has had firsthand experience of the effects of US foreign policy.

In Iraq, Tammy Duckworth, who would later become a senator from Illinois, credited him with saving her life when she was a soldier, and in Gaza, he refused to leave until the non-American doctors were also evacuated. In June 2024, he testified to Congress about treating patients in Gaza.

His campaign manager, Hebah Kassem, who has a background in public health and has worked on several political campaigns, had helped Hamawy leave Gaza. When he announced his run for Congress, she was interested in joining an upstart campaign focused on healthcare.

"I was one of the first people he called [when he decided to run for Congress]," Kassem tells TNA. "He has an interesting story that is very appealing to people."

So far, Hamawy, who is competing against around a dozen other candidates in New Jersey's 12th congressional district, is leading in both fundraising and in the polls, boosted by hundreds of volunteers who have knocked on thousands of doors. He has been endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Representative Ro Khanna of California and by progressive groups such as Justice Democrats and Track AIPAC.

According to the Cook Partisan Voter Index, New Jersey's District 12 is Democrat +13, based on the latest presidential election, meaning that the Democrat who wins Tuesday’s primary is expected to win the general election in November.

Days before New Jersey's 2 June primary, Hamawy is facing questions over his connection in the early 1990s with Omar Abdel-Rahman, a Muslim leader who was later convicted for his involvement in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre.

He has responded by saying that he ceased contact after Abdel-Rahman was arrested, and he has dismissed the recent questions over his past ties with the sheikh as Islamophobic. Though he continues to lead in Democratic primary polls, this could be a sign of what he would be facing in the November general election.

Despite predictable attacks and divisions before election day, Hamawy says he believes he can bridge party divisions and has managed to court some Republican voters by focusing on everyday issues, such as affordability and better access to high-quality healthcare and education.

"Their messaging is based on fear and misinformation. Our job is trying to dispel that fear," he said. "Growing up, they said, 'Don't talk about politics and religion'. We have to talk about it. We have to break these boundaries and talk about the issues we care about. Most people just want to have a better life. It’s important to get out of our own silos."

"Treating patients, I see everyone as a human being. That's been core for my entire life. Healthcare is such a sacred thing; it's a human right. It shouldn't be denied to anyone. It's just who I am," he said.

Field and medical sources told The New Arab that the strike targeted the home of the Abu Zaher family in Block 9 of Al-Bureij camp.

 Medical teams transported four injured people to Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The sources said that the wounded included a child and a woman. The strike was carried out by an Israeli drone that fired a missile at the house.

Earlier, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that one additional person had been killed and eight others injured during the previous 24 hours in Israeli attacks on the territory.

The ministry said that Israel had killed 930 people and injured 2,819 others since a theoretical “ceasefire” came into effect in Gaza on October 10, 2025.

It added that hospitals in Gaza had reported 33 fatalities and more than 130 injured people during the four days of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, as a result of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

The latest attacks have brought the total toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza which began in October 2023, to 72,939 deaths and 172,927 injuries.

Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas, have accused Israel of trying to delay implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in order to avoid fulfilling its obligations.

In a statement issued on Sunday, they said that Israel’s continuing attacks and its siege of Gaza, as well as its deliberate targeting of police personnel were “a deliberate attempt to push residents toward fleeing and keeping Gaza in a state of permanent crisis.”

The warning comes more than seven months after a ceasefire took effect following a genocidal Israeli war that lasted more than two years.

Raed Hussein, the director of the hospital , said the facility had entered a "very dangerous" stage after backup generators stopped functioning, paralyzing operations in several vital departments and threatening others with complete shutdown.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Hussein said the hospital's backup generators had deteriorated after operating continuously for more than a year and were no longer capable of meeting the daily needs of essential medical departments.

He added that the hospital's operating theatres had completely stopped functioning after a fourth generator went out of service.

Dialysis units, neonatal incubators, intensive care units and laboratories are now at risk of shutting down within hours amid the worsening electricity crisis and rising temperatures.

Hussein said engineering and technical teams were continuing efforts to repair the generators, but that these interventions were no longer proving effective because of the deterioration of the equipment and a shortage of spare parts required for maintenance.

He noted that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is the only government hospital in Deir al-Balah governorate and provides services to around 500,000 Palestinians, including thousands displaced to the area during Israel's war on Gaza.

The hospital's continued operation was an urgent humanitarian necessity, he said.

Hussein called on international organisations and relevant authorities to intervene immediately by strengthening electricity supplies to the hospital through a direct power connection and the provision of new generators to ensure medical services continue and patients' lives are protected.

In a related development, the Palestinian news agency Wafa cited medical sources in Gaza as saying the territory's healthcare system was facing "catastrophic conditions" due to the continuing Israeli blockade and restrictions on the entry of medicines and medical supplies.

The sources said this was worsening the suffering of patients and wounded Palestinians across the enclave.

Israel has continued to besiege Gaza after a ceasefire deal was reached in October 2025, violating provisions of the deal which stipulate that a minimum level of aid supplies must be provided.

It has also killed 929 people, including 247 children and 191 women, in deadly attacks in Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement.

A decree from Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said official working hours would begin at 10 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. for its Group J games against Austria, Algeria and Argentina which are being played in the U.S. on June 17, 23 and 28.

"The decision aims to enable citizens to follow and rally behind our national football team during its historic participation in this tournament," said a government statement.

Jordan, popularly known as Al-Nashama (The Chivalrous Ones), qualified for the World Cup after finishing second behind South Korea in their Asian qualifying group, an unprecedented achievement that sparked nationwide celebration.

Switzerland beats Jordan 4-1 in rainy World Cup send off

Switzerland scored three goals in the first half but added only one more after the break as they beat Jordan 4-1 in their friendly international on Sunday.

The Swiss struck two penalties, both awarded after VAR reviews, to be 3-0 up at halftime.

Both teams are World Cup bound but there was an obvious gulf in class as Breel Embolo converted the first spot kick in the 28th minute after a foul on Remo Freuler.

Embolo provided a defence-splitting pass for Dan Ndoye to make it 2-0 five minutes later and a foul on Embolo in stoppage time at the end of the half saw captain Granit Xhaka convert the second penalty with the last kick of the half.

Jordan pulled one back in the 52nd minute through 20-year-old Odeh Fakhoury, who squeezed a shot into the corner of the Swiss goal from the edge of the penalty area.

Christian Fassnacht scored his first national team goal in five years to restore the Swiss three-goal advantage with 11 minutes left.

A sudden torrential downpour in the closing minutes saw the final whistle blown two minutes short of the 90-minute mark and the Swiss were forced to cut short their planned send off in front of their home fans before they head to the United States on Tuesday.

Bentaleb, 31, has not played for the team since last October but has been recalled to a squad that also sees the return of key attackers Houssem Aouar and Amine Gouiri, who missed the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco at the turn of the year because of injury.

Bentaleb played at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Algeria got past the first round, but has had several periods of lengthy absence from the side.

"We know Bentaleb well; he has all the qualities as a person for the group too," Petkovic said. "He has shown he's in form these last few months."

Oussama Benbot, who announced his retirement from the national team after being an unused substitute at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco at the turn of the year, returned to help solve a potential goalkeeping crisis.

The 31-year-old’s form played a large part in his club USM Alger winning the African Confederation Cup final this month. He has angered Petkovic in the past with complaints about his lack of playing time.

Luca Zidane, son of French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, was Algeria’s first-choice goalkeeper at the Cup of Nations but turned in several undistinguished performances, and broke his jaw and chin in April with his Spanish club Granada.

Algeria, who were last at a World Cup 12 years ago, will have a warm-up friendly in Rotterdam against the Netherlands on Wednesday before heading to the U.S. where another pre-tournament match is planned against Bolivia in Kansas City on June 10.

Algeria compete in Group J with holders Argentina, Austria, and Jordan.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Oussama Benbot (USM Alger), Melvin Masstil (Stade Nyonnaise), Luca Zidane (Granada)

Defenders: Achraf Abada (USM Alger), Rayan Ait Nouri (Manchester City), Zinedine Belaid (JS Kabylie), Rafik Belghali (Verona), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund), Samir Chergui (Paris FC), Jaouen Hadjam (Young Boys Bern), Aissa Mandi (Lille), Mohamed Amine Tougai (Esperance)

Midfielders: Houssem Aouar (Al Ittihad), Nabil Bentaleb (Lille), Hicham Boudaoui (Nice), Fares Chaibi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen), Yassine Titraoui (Charleroi), Ramiz Zerrouki (FC Twente)

Forwards: Mohamed Amine Amoura (VfL Wolfsburg), Nadir Benbouali (Győri ETO), Adil Boulbina (Al-Duhail), Fares Ghedjemis (Frosinone), Amine Gouiri (Olympique de Marseille), Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli), Anis Hadj Moussa (Feyenoord Rotterdam).

Standby goalkeeper: Abdellatif Ramdane (Mouloudia Alger).

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah identified the man as Imad Haroun Ashtiyeh, 26, saying he was killed by Israeli gunfire near the town of Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem.

Ashtiyeh, a construction worker from the village of Salem near Nablus, had attempted to climb the barrier at Al-Ram along with a few other men to make his way to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv for work, said Omer, a relative who gave only his first name.

"But then he was shot while attempting to climb over," Omer told AFP.

An AFP journalist saw Ashtiyeh's corpse shrouded in a Palestinian flag at the Ramallah medical complex, his relatives weeping over his body.

The Palestinian Authority's press office wrote on X that "Israeli occupation forces killed a Palestinian man seeking work while crossing the annexation and apartheid wall".

Al-Ram, located near the Qalandiya checkpoint, is separated from Jerusalem by a section of the barrier reinforced with barbed wire.

The Israeli military and police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli security officials say a significant number of Palestinians from the West Bank attempt to enter Israel "illegally," often by climbing over the barrier.

They are driven largely by Israeli occupation, economic hardship, and the loss of work permits since the start of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023.

Most of them are arrested, while some have been killed or injured fleeing from Israeli forces, Palestinian officials say.

Ashtiyeh is the fifth Palestinian killed trying to cross into Israel this year, and the 52nd since 7 October 2023, according to the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.

Israel began building the barrier at the height of the second Palestinian intifada that erupted in 2002, saying it was needed to maintain security amid suicide bombings in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities.

The barrier cuts into many parts of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, and Palestinians see it as a land grab and de facto border illegal under international law.

Israel maintains tight restrictions on the movement of the West Bank's roughly three million residents, who require special permits to cross checkpoints into east Jerusalem and Israel.

Violence has sharply escalated in the Palestinian territory since the Gaza war began.

At least 1,075 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or extremist Jewish Israeli settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to AFP figures based on Palestinian health ministry data.

The proposal, known as the "United States-Israel Defence Technology Cooperation Initiative", appears as Section 224 of the House Armed Services Committee's draft version of the fiscal year 2027 National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual bill that sets US military policy and spending priorities.

The measure remains at an early stage and must pass both chambers of Congress before becoming law. The House Armed Services Committee is expected to begin considering the legislation in early June.

According to committee documents, Section 224 would require the US defence secretary to appoint an "executive agent" responsible for coordinating defence technology cooperation between the US and Israel, including research, development, testing, industrial cooperation and technology integration.

The proposal goes far beyond existing military aid and missile defence cooperation, potentially embedding Israeli defence technologies and companies more deeply within the US military-industrial system.

Josh Paul, a former US State Department official who resigned over the Biden administration's support for Israel's war on Gaza and later founded the advocacy group A New Policy, told Al Jazeera that the measure was designed to make future policy shifts towards Israel far harder.

"What Congress is trying to do now is find different ways of entrenching the relationship so deep in America's own defence industrial base that it's impossible to root it out," Paul said.

In a video posted on social media on Friday, Paul warned that the proposal would give Israel "unprecedented access" to American military technology and integrate Israeli defence systems into critical US military supply chains.

"A new section of law in the National Defense Authorization Act would give Israel unprecedented access to American technology and would force the United States military to integrate Israeli defence technologies into our own critical military supply chain, giving Israel incredible leverage over America's own defence priorities," he said.

Pro-Israel advocates have framed it as a way to expand cooperation between Israel and the US in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, drones, missile defence and other emerging technologies.

The US and Israel already jointly develop systems including Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow missile defence platforms.

However, analysts at Responsible Statecraft have argued that Section 224 could represent a broader shift in the nature of the US-Israel relationship, moving it away from one primarily based on military aid towards deeper industrial and technological integration.

The online publication said the measure lays the groundwork for joint weapons production, licensing agreements, research partnerships and expanded cooperation across sectors including AI, autonomous systems, cyber technology, quantum computing and biotechnology.

There are also concerns that integrating defence production and technology development could make future attempts by US administrations to restrict military cooperation with Israel more politically and institutionally difficult.

The proposal comes amid continuing debate in Washington over US military support for Israel following the genocidal Gaza war and US-Israel war on Iran.

Public polling has suggested growing opposition among many Americans to unconditional military assistance for Israel, particularly among Democrats and younger voters.

The legislation was introduced by House Armed Services Committee chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, and the committee's senior Democrat Adam Smith, giving it backing from both major parties despite increasingly visible divisions within Congress over US policy towards Israel.

The castle, known in Arabic as Qalaat al-Shaqif, occupies a strategic vantage point overlooking most of southern Lebanon as well as northern Israel. In addition to being a medieval heritage site, it has contemporary strategic significance.

The Israeli military said the operation was focused on establishing control of the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area, while destroying Hezbollah infrastructure.

The Israeli flag was raised over the castle, while Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that was “a clear message to our enemies: those who threaten Israel’s citizens will gradually lose their strategic positions.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, called the capture of the castle a “dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading”.

France meanwhile requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in response to an issue.

The Israeli seizure of the castle came despite a security meeting between Israeli and Lebanese military delegations in Washington on Friday, the first one of its kind.

The Israeli army also announced on Sunday that a 21-year-old sergeant had been killed by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah on Saturday, raising the total number of Israeli fatalities in Lebanon since a US-brokered “ceasefire” came into effect on April 16 to 13.

Hezbollah also launched rockets at several towns in northern Israel on Sunday including, Kiryat Shimona, Nahariyya and Safad.

Medieval castle with contemporary strategic depth

The Israeli capture of Beaufort Castle, which was built in the 12th century by the Crusaders, comes at a time when the Lebanese government has been trying to protect archaeological sites in south Lebanon amid what it describes as systematic Israeli destruction of heritage.

It submitted a memorandum regarding this to UNESCO on Friday after Israel had bombed the castle on Tuesday.

Beaufort Castle was officially placed under “enhanced protection” in 2024 under the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Israeli forces previously used the castle as a base when they occupied south Lebanon between 1982 and 2000. It was heavily damaged in fighting during this time.

It stands more than 700 metres above sea level near the town of Arnoun and overlooks the Litani River, the Marjayoun Plain, Nabatieh, and large areas of southern Lebanon.

The municipality of Arnoun has previously condemned Israel’s targeting of the historic castle, as well as the repeated shelling of the town, he destruction of neighborhoods and infrastructure and the forced displacement of the town’s hills.

During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the site was the scene of a well known battle between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israeli forces that lasted several days.

Military affairs expert Brigadier General Akram Seriwi told The New Arab that the castle’s position on a steep hill, makes it impossible for a military force to approach it on foot while giving it commanding views over the entire Litani Valley.

He said that in the chain of hills around it had previously given anti-Israel forces the ability to direct fire across a wide area and control strategic routes.

Diminished military advantage?

Whoever controls the castle gains a military advantage, according to Seriwi, and with the Israeli capture, it can now secure its real lines.

He described the fortress as ancient and heavily fortified, capable of enabling defenders to endure for long periods.

However, he said it appeared Hezbollah had not been present there this time because no battle occurred and Israeli forces entered without resistance.

On the other hand Seriwi said that Hezbollah’s recent use of drones had somewhat reduced the strategic value of controlling the castle and other hilltop fortifications.

He added that Israeli officials themselves have acknowledged the difficulty of countering drones, which do not require direct line-of-sight engagement and can travel distances of up to 30 kilometers.

While anti-tank missiles and direct-fire weapons rely heavily on observation from strategic positions, drone operators can identify targets through onboard cameras and control drones from concealed locations elsewhere.

Thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris for the match and to revel in PSG's triumph in the final held in the Hungarian capital Budapest late Saturday.

But some mobs clashed with police, around 22,000 of whom were deployed across France after unrest last year when PSG also won the competition.

Highlighting an increased use of fireworks directed at law enforcement, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said in a press briefing 57 security forces were injured and that there had been "219 participants injured in France, including eight seriously".

The Paris public prosecutor's office announced the death of a young man in his twenties after he crashed head-on into concrete blocks on a Paris ring road exit ramp on his motocross bike.

Another young man was seriously injured in a knife attack in Paris allegedly over a robbery, the prosecutor's office added.

Nunez said a small number of thefts and lootings had taken place in around fifteen cities across the country and incidents of violence were recorded in 71 municipalities.

The 780 arrests was a 32 percent increase compared to the celebrations of PSG's Champions League win last year, the minister noted.

Victory parade

Around 100,000 people are expected to gather for a parade including the players on Sunday afternoon on the Champs-de-Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower, before being received at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron.

Nunez promised "a strong law enforcement response" during the players' return celebrations and fines for "obstructing traffic" in the event of any intrusion onto the Paris ring road.

The district mayor of Paris's 8th arrondissement - home to the famed Champs-Elysees where 20,000 people converged after PSG's victory - called for "zero gatherings" on the iconic avenue as the only way to avoid further violence.

On Saturday night, the "Champs-Elysees avenue and its surroundings ceased to be a place of celebration and became an arena of urban guerrilla warfare", the town hall said in a statement.

"Since it has become impossible to celebrate a match without descending into riots, the only common sense response is a new doctrine: 'zero gatherings'," it demanded.

Nunez dismissed the idea saying it would "tie up almost half of the security deployment". Nearly 6,000 police and gendarmes have been deployed for security during the celebrations on Sunday.

In a statement, the National Commission for Missing Persons said that it had "reached reliable and corroborated findings that allow, with a high degree of professional certainty, the conclusion that the children of Dr Rania Al-Abbasi are dead."

Dr Rania Al-Abbasi, a dentist, was arrested along with her six children, aged between two and 14, in a raid on her home in the Damascus suburb of Mashroua Dummer on 3 September 2013 by the Assad regime's military intelligence.

Her husband, Abdul Rahman Yasin, was arrested in an earlier raid by military intelligence. They were believed to be detained because they gave assistance to Syrian opposition activists.

The commission said that its findings "are based on a set of investigations, data, and cross-analytical assessments that have been reviewed and evaluated in line with established professional standards."

It added that it was still looking to recover the remains and uncover the location of where the family is buried.

On the social media platform X, Syrian analyst Suhail al-Ghazi said that this was "one of the most known and devastating" stories of missing children in Syria.

In a post on Facebook, Hassan al-Abbasi, the brother of Rania, said that Amjad Youssef, the perpetrator of the massacre in the Damascus suburb of Tadmour in 2013, is linked to the case.

Youssef was arrested by Syrian authorities in April.

Kholoud Helmi, General Coordinator at Families for Freedom, an organisation set up to demand the release of detainees held by the regime, told The New Arab that the family "became a symbol of the cruelty of enforced disappearance under the Assad regime."

"The disappearance of an entire family, including young children, represented one of the most painful examples of the violations committed against Syrians over the past decades," she said.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), a rights group and monitor that tracked human rights violations over the course of the war, documented the forced disappearance of 3,736 children by the Assad regime over the course of the war.

SNHR documented 160,123 people in total have been forcibly disappeared by the regime.

Helmi said that Families for Freedom welcomed the efforts of the commission to provide families with answers to the fate of the missing, but that these must be guided by respect for families' rights and wishes.

"For Syrian families, this is not only about the past. It is about recognition, accountability, and the possibility of healing. Families cannot move forward while they are denied the truth."

"The search for the missing must remain a national priority, and families must remain at the centre of that process."

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran will not agree to any deal with the United States that fails to secure the rights of Iranians.

"We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld," Ghalibaf said, in a video broadcast on state television.

He added that Iranian negotiators "neither trust the enemy's words nor its promises."

His remarks came as Iran and Washington continue to exchange proposals over a framework for a deal to end the war that broke out on 28 February, engulfing the Middle East.

On Saturday, The New York Times and Axios media outlets reported that US President Donald Trump had sent back to Tehran a new framework to be considered by Iran with "tougher" terms.

It was not immediately clear what that entailed.

Iran views sanction relief and the release of its assets frozen in banks abroad as among its key rights to be ensured under any deal with the United States.

Since the outbreak of the war, Iran has kept tight control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, and sees oversight of shipping through the waterway as within its rights.

"We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Cancel it."

Shortly after they were announced as performers in a Washington concert series around the 4 July holiday, multiple musical acts backed out, with some citing the event's politicisation.

The concerts were scheduled to kick off on 25 June as part of a major event on the National Mall organised by Freedom 250, a Trump-backed public-private entity.

"I understand Artists are getting 'the yips'" about performing, Trump said earlier on Truth Social, one day after a fourth and fifth act announced their departure, out of a total of nine artists originally announced.

"So I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime...and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate 'Artists.'"

Trump said he was ordering aides to assess "the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally" on the mall, where he would deliver a speech "rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!"

On Friday, artists including country singer Martina McBride and glam rocker Bret Michaels, frontman of 1980s band Poison, said they were dropping out of the concert series.

"Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of," Michaels posted on Facebook.

Trump has openly tried to stamp his mark on the celebrations, most notably by staging an mixed martial arts fight in a specially constructed arena on the White House lawn on 14 June - his 80th birthday.

The remaining line-up of musicians, whose prime came and went decades ago - such as Vanilla Ice and C+C Music Factory - has sparked a flood of sarcastic comments on social media.

A drone hit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, the UN nuclear agency has said, citing local officials.

The International Atomic Energy Agency posted on social media that the Russian-run plant's operator informed it that a drone had hit the turbine building on Saturday, "reportedly causing a hole in its wall".

Russian media carried a statement from state-owned nuclear power firm Rosatom accusing Ukraine of a deliberate attack - a claim strongly denied by Kyiv.

Close to the front line in southern Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe with attacks since it was captured by Russia's forces in 2022.

"There should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant", IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying in the agency's X post late on Saturday. "Attacking nuclear sites is like playing with fire."

Rosatom alleged the drone was controlled via a fibre-optic cable, which ruled out "the possibility of an accidental strike".

"Today, we have come one step closer to an incident that is highly likely to affect even those who live far beyond the borders of Russia and Ukraine," Rosatom CEO Alexei Likachev told Russian media.

Rejecting the accusations, Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement that they lacked "logic".

"It is unclear why Ukraine would strike its own nuclear power plant located on its own territory, which it itself seeks to regain under its sovereign control," the ministry said.

"We consider these statements as yet another information operation by the occupying state."

The strike blew a hole in the wall of the machine room but did not damage core equipment, Rosatom said.

Authorities in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia in April accused Ukraine of carrying out a strike which they said killed a transport worker.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Trump had sent Tehran a revised proposal containing stricter conditions after expressing frustration with what he sees as delays in Iran's response to previous US offers.

According to the newspaper, the revised framework was sent back to Iran for review after being amended by Trump.

The report said the proposal had been developed with the involvement of mediators, including Pakistan, and had already been forwarded to Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, for approval.

The White House confirmed on Friday that Trump had held a two-hour meeting to discuss a possible agreement with Iran but left without making a final decision, despite previously indicating that he intended to settle the matter during the meeting.

Following the talks, the White House said Trump was seeking an agreement with Iran that would be "good only for the United States" and would conform to Washington's "red lines".

Separately, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a senior administration official and another source familiar with the negotiations, that Trump requested several changes to a draft agreement negotiated by his envoys and Iranian officials.

According to the outlet, the proposed changes focus primarily on how Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium would be handled and the timetable for implementing the agreement.

Under the current memorandum of understanding, Iran would commit not to pursuing a nuclear weapon while both sides would have 60 days to negotiate details relating to Iran's nuclear programme and the easing of US sanctions.

Those discussions would include the future of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and permissible levels of uranium enrichment.

Axios also reported that Trump wants to revisit provisions related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes for oil and gas exports.

The report said US officials had informed Trump that Iran would likely require around three days to respond to the revised proposal because of difficulties communicating within the Iranian leadership.

A senior US administration official told Axios: "They're literally in caves and they don't use email."

"A deal will get done eventually. We're prepared to wait until the president gets what he's asking for. It could take a week, less, or longer. We hope to get something by the end of the week," the official added.

US President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran.

Any tweaks to the proposal could prolong even further an agreement to formally end the Middle East war and open the Strait of Hormuz maritime route after weeks of efforts to secure a deal despite fractious rhetoric and the occasional flare up of armed conflict.

"The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They've agreed to that, and it was very interesting," he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview broadcast on her Fox News programme on Saturday night.

But Tehran has previously cast doubt on Trump's assertions and the parties appeared far apart on their key priorities.

In southern Lebanon, the other major front in the regional war, Israeli forces captured the strategic medieval fortress of Beaufort which overlooks large parts of the territory. Israel has has expanded its ground invasion as fighting rages with Hezbollah.

The United States warned on Saturday it was "more than capable" of resuming its war with Iran after President Donald Trump said any peace deal must adhere to his red lines, including Tehran never being able to develop nuclear weapons.

The White House had signaled Trump was close to a decision on a potential deal, though Tehran denied there was a final agreement on ending the conflict.

US sources had told AFP the deal was waiting on Trump's sign-off, but he made no decision after a White House Situation Room meeting on Friday.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, while attending a defense summit in Singapore, said on Saturday that Washington was "more than capable" of restarting the war if necessary, adding "our stockpiles are more than suited for that."

US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X that American forces "remain present and vigilant across the region."

Despite a ceasefire that has largely held since April, there have been occasional flare-ups.

Iran's IRNA state news agency said air defenses shot down a drone "belonging to the US-Zionist aggressor enemy" on Saturday, citing the army.

Nevertheless diplomacy has continued, including to stop parallel fighting in Lebanon, which Iran has insisted be part of any deal to end the war and where Israeli forces have advanced further even as military delegations from both nations met at the Pentagon Friday.

Trump said his priorities for any deal included Iran agreeing to never develop nuclear weapons and the re-opening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

"President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his red lines," a White House official told AFP, adding: "Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon."

Competing conditions

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei pushed back on Trump's conditions, saying the Islamic republic "said goodbye to the language of 'must' 47 years ago."

Exchanges of messages were continuing, he added, but "no final agreement has been reached."

In his social media post, Trump said Tehran would remove mines from the Strait of Hormuz and end its closure of the waterway with "no tolls," while the US would lift its blockade of Iranian ports.

The two countries would also coordinate on removing and destroying Iran's enriched uranium, he said, adding that "no money will be exchanged, until further notice."

Iran's Fars news agency, however, cited sources as saying Tehran was demanding "the immediate release of $12 billion" before moving to the next phase of negotiations.

And Iranian state television on Saturday said an "unofficial" draft memorandum of understanding said the United States agreed to release $12 billion in frozen assets.

"The United States has pledged to provide Iran with full access to $12 billion of its assets within 60 days, so that these resources can be transferred and spent in banks of Iran's desired destination without restrictions," the televised report said.

The White House has previously dismissed such claims as a "fabrication."

On the toll-free reopening of Hormuz, the sources cited by Fars news agency said "no such clause appears in the text of the agreement," while Trump's comment on destroying Iran's nuclear material "is fundamentally baseless."

Iran's ISNA news agency on Saturday cited lawmaker Alireza Salimi as saying a plan "to implement Iran's management and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz will soon be approved by parliament."

Meanwhile, Iran's Tasnim news agency said the US blockade in the strait remained in place and its ships "are receiving warnings from CENTCOM to stop and not cross the blockade line."

The report cited an "unofficial" draft of the memorandum, and a similar item carried by state TV earlier this week was dismissed by the White House as a "fabrication".

It comes a day after US President Donald Trump issued his own detailed characterisation of a potential agreement aimed at halting the war between the two foes, key elements of which were likewise disputed by Iranian sources.

Saturday's state TV report said, "the United States has pledged to provide Iran with full access to $12 billion of its assets within 60 days, so that these resources can be transferred and spent in banks of Iran's desired destination without restrictions."

In his own description of the deal on Friday, Trump had insisted that "no money will be exchanged, until further notice", which Iranian media reports citing informed sources swiftly refuted.

Earlier this week, a source told AFP that Iran's central bank chief was part of a delegation that visited Qatar "to discuss the issue of frozen funds, which is addressed in the MoU as part of an eventual final deal".

Saturday's state TV report also said that Tehran would continue to manage the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the start of the war, roiling global markets.

On Friday, Trump had said that Iran would reopen the strait "for unrestricted shipping traffic", and the US has repeatedly said it would be unacceptable for Iran to retain control over the vital conduit for energy shipments.

A delegation of families visited a UN post in the Nabaa al-Fawar area of Quneitra governorate earlier this week to demand the release of their relatives and information about their fate.

The visit came days after the families staged a protest outside the UN building in Damascus, where they called for the immediate disclosure of their relatives' whereabouts and release.

They urged international organisations to take responsibility for addressing cases of forced disappearances carried out by Israel in southern Syria.

Participants at the demonstration on 27 May said the number of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons held by Israeli forces has reached 47 people from the governorates of Quneitra, Daraa and Rif Damascus, including teachers, students and farmers.

According to Sijil, a Syrian monitoring centre that documents Israeli military operations in Syria, particularly in the country's south, at least 197 people have been abducted by Israeli forces since 8 December 2024, the day Bashar al-Assad's regime fell. Forty-five remained in detention when the group's latest report was compiled last month.

The centre also documented the killing of 36 Syrian civilians during Israeli military operations over the same period.

Immediately after Assad's fall, Israeli forces crossed the UN-monitored buffer zone for the first time since the 1970s and advanced into parts of Quneitra, citing security concerns. Israel also launched massive strikes across Syria and captured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, placing its troops within close proximity of Damascus.

Syria's new government has repeatedly said it does not seek conflict with Israel and poses no threat to it. However, direct negotiations between the two countries have so far failed to produce tangible results.

Families left without answers

Southern Syria-based correspondent Nour Abu Hassan told The New Arab that the UN's role remains limited to documentation and monitoring, with no ability to stop Israeli incursions or prevent arrests.

"There is continuous communication between local residents and the UN, especially families who have detainees. On the first day of Eid, families went to meet the UN commander to ask about their detained ones, mainly to know their fate and establish any form of contact, but the response was negative," he told TNA.

He said the UN only documents arrests when they occur and does not intervene further.

"Because the detainees are still under investigation and are not granted the rights of prisoners, even obtaining information about them or checking on their condition is impossible, so the answer is always negative," he added.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was established in 1974 following the Arab-Israeli War the previous year to monitor the ceasefire and disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria in the occupied Golan Heights.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, a move recognised only by the United States. Following Assad's fall, Israel declared the disengagement agreement void and moved troops into the UNDOF buffer zone.

'Abandoned'

Residents in Quneitra say they have largely been left to deal with ongoing Israeli incursions and the issue of detainees on their own, amid a lack of organised support structures and little information about those being held.

Quneitra-based activist Jomana Hasan told TNA that there is currently no coordinated movement or institutional framework focused on the detainees' issue.

"There is no organised structure in the area – no bodies, no coordinated groups, no associations," she said. "Even we, as activists, are falling short. The situation regarding the detainees is unclear."

She said efforts remain largely local and are driven by residents and families in Quneitra, who live near the frontier and regularly witness Israeli military activity.

"The people of the area are in direct contact with the [Israeli] occupation forces in the sense that they see the incursions into their lands every day," she said.

"Public mobilisation only happens when something major occurs, such as the [December 2025] strike on Beit Jinn that killed around 13 civilians. Other than that, there is no organised or continuous action."

According to Hasan, responsibility for addressing the detainees' file ultimately lies with the Syrian state.

"The responsibility for protecting civilians and the land naturally lies with the state, and it is the party that must take action regarding the detainees," she said. "I believe this issue is raised in the negotiations [with Israel], but so far we have no answers."

She described an atmosphere of fear in Quneitra, where residents continue to face arrests, military incursions and damage to property.

"Residents are left on their own facing the Israeli aggression, and this is frightening," she said. "There is constant fear because the violations have not stopped. These incursions come with material and human losses – whether through arrests, the destruction of homes, or damage to land."

"In reality, the people of Quneitra have not experienced real relief after the fall of Assad; instead, they found themselves facing another brutal and relentless enemy," she said.

Refusing to give up

Hasan called on the Syrian government to intensify diplomatic efforts to secure the detainees' release and to provide greater transparency to affected communities.

She also suggested that local communities may eventually need to establish more permanent mechanisms to support detainees and their families.

"If the situation continues as it is, we may need something more sustainable, such as a committee for detainees held by the occupation, institutions to support families, or an organised grassroots movement to uncover the fate of detainees and stop the arrests," she said.

Despite the challenges, she said residents remain determined to continue pressing the issue.

"The situation is far from good. People – including myself – live with the fear of waking up to find Israel inside our homes or on our land, or that someone from our families has been taken," she said.

"The only option is to keep trying, because this is our land, our country, and our people. We cannot fall into political nihilism and say 'Israel is strong and nothing can be done'. There is always something that can be done, at the very least to keep trying."

The settler attack in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, involved the use of live ammunition and assault, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society documented two people as being shot with bullets, as well as one being wounded by bullet shrapnel, while four others were physically assaulted.

Ambulances from the agency were also prevented from reaching those injured by Israeli forces.

Settlers also attacked several homes in the early hours of Saturday morning in the town of Beita, also south of Nablus, with vehicles also damaged by stones, and later attacked the village of Deir Abu Mash'al, damaging a vehicle.

Alongside the settler attacks, Israeli forces detained six Palestinians, two men in the suburb of Shuweika north of Tulkarem, and four in raids on the city of Qalqilya.

Raids on Qalqilya continued through Saturday with a focus on the village of Kafr Qaddum, while in Ramallah, the villages of Abwein, Ajjul, Aroura, the town of Sinjil, and the city of Rawabi, were also stormed.

Since the start of the year, 52 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The UN office also noted 211 Israeli settler attacks causing damage to property and injuries to Palestinians in April alone.

Meanwhile, in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities have forced several families to self-demolish their homes.

This includes a family in the al-Bustan neighbourhood of Silwan, a family in Beit Hanina.

In the village of Qalandia, a family was ordered to demolish the homes of six Palestinian families in the village, alongside the family home.

Israeli authorities regularly force Palestinians to demolish their homes in occupied East Jerusalem under the pretext of having built the house without a permit.

Israeli authorities in the city regularly deny Palestinian applications to build housing, and have begun a new initiative to seize dozens of Palestinian homes in the city's Bab el-Silsileh neighbourhood.

The exclusions have fuelled criticism from activists and observers who argue that former Hirak figures continue to face obstacles to political participation, even after choosing to engage through formal political avenues rather than street protests.

Among the most prominent figures rejected was lawyer Hashem Sassi, a leading Hirak activist from Batna in eastern Algeria, who had been selected to head the National Democratic Rally (RND) list in his province.

The RND is one of Algeria's main pro-government parties.

Sassi's exclusion surprised supporters and fellow activists, particularly as he had joined the party less than a year ago and was later appointed an adviser to its secretary-general.

Since the Hirak movement, Sassi has publicly supported electoral participation and advocated political engagement through parties and institutions.

In a video published on Thursday, Sassi confirmed he would not be running in the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2 July. While he pledged to continue campaigning for the RND list in Batna, he expressed disappointment.

Another prominent Hirak figure, Samir Belarbi, also had his candidacy rejected. Belarbi, who became known during the 2019 protest movement and later faced legal proceedings linked to his political positions, had sought to stand as a candidate for the Justice and Development Front.

"We wanted to contribute to political work in a peaceful and organised framework," Belarbi told The New Arab.

"But the authorities relied on considerations linked to Article 200 of the electoral law. The decision rejecting my case stated that the required conditions had not been met and that I was linked to suspicious activities, without specifying the nature of those activities."

The election authority further rejected the candidacy of activist Ibek Abdelmalek, who was active in the Committee for the Defence of the Unemployed in the southern province of Ouargla before the Hirak movement, and later emerged as one of the protest movement's most prominent local figures.

After joining the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Abdelmalek helped gather the signatures needed to submit a party list in Ouargla and hoped to use parliament as a platform to advance causes he had campaigned on for years.

In a statement announcing his candidacy, Abdelmalek described the move as a "new step in the struggle", aimed at bringing years of activism, from unemployment campaigns and opposition to shale gas projects to wider grassroots movements, into parliament.

However, his candidacy was ultimately rejected on the grounds of "suspicions of involvement in suspicious activities affecting the ethics of political work".

The same fate befell activist and blogger Hamza Berkani, who was involved in youth coalitions and unemployment campaigns before the Hirak movement and later became known for his criticism of Algeria's political situation during the protests.

After a brief period in the Union for Democratic Forces party, Berkani sought to stand in the parliamentary elections on a Justice and Development Front list, but his candidacy was rejected for similar reasons.

Observers of Algerian politics say the exclusions highlight official concerns about critical voices and raise questions about the willingness of authorities to integrate former Hirak activists into the country's formal political system.

The parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on 2 July amid broader debates over political participation, representation and the future role of activists who emerged during the mass protests that swept Algeria in 2019.

The fighting, in the main city of Somalia's South West State, followed the army's ouster in March of the state's president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.

"Armed elements entered the city with the intention of creating instability and disorder" but were repelled by security forces, Baidoa's police chief, Sadiq Dudishe, told a news conference. He said calm had been restored.

A military commander, Hussein Ali, told AFP that his forces counted "approximately six bodies of the attackers", whom he described as "young men who were misled and exploited by politicians".

A local resident, Mohamud Ibrahim, told AFP by telephone: "I saw the bodies of four combatants, and two civilians who were struck by stray bullets."

He said the the fighters loyal to Laftagareen had briefly seized control of certain districts of the city before withdrawing.

Local authorities said the attack happened as preparations were being made to swear in newly elected members of the state's legislature, following votes that took place on 10 May.

Laftagreen had opposed a reform of Somalia's constitution that was adopted in early March.

The changes extend the mandate of the country's president from four to five years and introduce universal suffrage for lawmakers, who previously had been appointed by an indirect system influenced by clans.

The mandate of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ended on 15 May with no agreement on the holding of elections to choose a successor.

Somalia's government said it is in a "transition period".

Mohamud has been attempting to move Somalia towards democratic elections, replacing a system based around clan elders.

But with the country deeply divided between rival clans and much of it under the control of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist insurgent group, there has been little progress on organising elections beyond a few localised pockets.

The move is being closely watched in Iraq as a potential model for regulating relations between the state and armed factions, at a time of renewed debate over the future role of paramilitary groups and growing pressure to strengthen state control over weapons.

On Friday, the committee tasked by al-Sadr announced it had begun overseeing the separation of Saraya al-Salam's military wing from the Shia National Movement, in line with directives issued by the influential cleric.

In a statement, al-Sadr's office said: "In implementation of what was stated in al-Sadr's declaration, in which he ordered the completion of procedures to separate the military wing of Saraya al-Salam from the Shia National Movement within a maximum period of one week, the assigned committee began its work on Friday to follow up the completion of procedures for separating the military wing of Saraya al-Salam from the Shia National Movement."

While figures close to al-Sadr have remained silent on the practical details of the process, Iraqi government institutions have begun monitoring the matter amid a widely held belief that a transition of this scale cannot be completed within days.

A government source familiar with the matter told The New Arab that "the committee formed by al-Sadr officially began its work on Friday, alongside government efforts aimed at accompanying the procedures and facilitating their implementation".

The source added that there were "direct instructions from the prime minister to continuously follow this file, considering it an important opportunity to strengthen the state project and reinforce the principle that weapons should remain exclusively in the hands of official institutions".

According to the source, the government views the initiative as a possible starting point for a broader process involving other armed groups if it proves successful.

Political analyst Raad al-Alwani described the move as a significant opportunity for Baghdad.

"The government's success in managing this file will give it significant political and security momentum in one of the most complicated issues Iraq has faced since 2003," he told The New Arab.

Al-Alwani said "the real test today is not the announcement of the decision itself, but the ability of government institutions to transform it into a practical, administrative, and legal reality".

The move comes amid growing domestic and international pressure to strengthen state control over weapons and regulate relations between armed groups and official security institutions.

Previous attempts by al-Sadr in 2017 and 2019 to dissolve or reorganise Saraya al-Salam never translated into fully implemented measures on the ground.

The current initiative therefore represents the most concrete effort yet to move the faction away from direct political control and into a state framework.

While the final details of the integration process remain unclear, the issue has entered a new stage focused on implementation rather than political declarations, placing the Iraqi government under scrutiny as it seeks to manage one of the country's most sensitive security files.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on Friday that a consular report containing testimonies from activists had been forwarded to the public prosecutor.

The report includes allegations of "sexual violence", "beatings" and "repeated insults" suffered by French nationals after Israel intercepted the flotilla in international waters.

However, lawyers representing around 30 French activists involved in the mission rejected an invitation from Barrot to meet privately and away from the media, arguing that the government's intervention came too late.

"The invitation came too late and, in one sense, was deceptive," lawyer Hana Bouchareb told The New Arab.

Bouchareb criticised what she described as efforts by French authorities to focus on a video published by extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rather than the wider allegations surrounding the flotilla.

The footage showed flotilla participants handcuffed and kneeling while being insulted, prompting international condemnation and a French entry ban on Ben-Gvir.

But Bouchareb argued that the alleged abuses began much earlier

"The attack on the flotilla began long before this video. It started with the illegal interception of the French and international sailors off the coast of Cyprus," she said.

In a statement released on Friday, the flotilla lawyers said French government statements "deceived no one" and were made only after a "global scandal" erupted following the publication of the Ben-Gvir video and the circulation of activists' testimonies.

The lawyers noted that no official condemnation followed the flotilla's first interception despite reports of violence.

The statement also alleged that France had "supported Israel since the beginning of the genocide" through exports of military equipment to Israel and accused the government of reinforcing the criminalisation of solidarity activism with Palestine inside France.

"We believe the government was forced to act after the videos spread, because public opinion was deeply affected," Bouchareb said.

"The proof is that we had previously contacted the French foreign ministry during the launch of the first flotilla and denounced acts of violence, without any strong public response from the government."

She also criticised Barrot's previous comments distancing France from the flotilla initiative.

"Mr Barrot reminded people in several interventions that he did not support the flotilla participants' action and that he considered the initiative unhelpful and disruptive to consular services. Those remarks were hurtful to the activists," she said.

Bouchareb argued that some of the alleged abuses "may have happened in the way we know today because the French authorities did not immediately set clear and firm limits for Israel".

"We expected a firmer position, publicly, politically, and diplomatically," she added.

Despite the government's decision to refer the case to prosecutors, the activists' legal team said it would pursue its own legal action.

"We are currently preparing a complaint separate from the one being pursued by the French government," Bouchareb said.

"Our complaint will be submitted before the Paris court in the coming days on behalf of those participants who wish to bring the matter before the judiciary."

Bouchareb said the legal team had collected testimonies describing "serious physical effects and psychological suffering", including beatings, sleep deprivation and denial of medication.

She added that some testimonies "also speak of incidents of a sexual nature".

Since Tuesday, France has raised the possibility of legal action through French courts or support for European sanctions amid pressure from left-wing lawmakers.

Two French activists who returned from the flotilla previously told The New Arab that participants held aboard what they described as "prison boats" were subjected to beatings, insults and psychological torture. They also alleged that around 16 incidents of sexual assault had been documented.

Earlier this month, activists freed from Israeli detention following the interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have reported that they were subjected to physical and sexual abuse, with at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.

"At least 15 cases of sexual assaults, including rape. Shot with rubber bullets at close range. Tens of people’s bones broken," organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla posted on Telegram.

Following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February, groups operating under the banner of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" carried out repeated drone and rocket attacks on US interests in the country.

Washington, in turn, bombed facilities and bases belonging to the groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, killing dozens of their members.

Since taking office in mid-May, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to restrict weapons to the hands of the state.

But in a statement on Saturday, Kataeb Hezbollah security chief Abu Mujahid al-Assaf said "jihadist action is today a collective duty, and we will carry it out on behalf of the brothers who have decided to abandon it".

While some factions have shown willingness to operate under state institutions, others, like Kataeb Hezbollah, refuse to discuss disarmament under US pressure.

Assaf suggested that Kataeb Hezbollah was willing to work with those other groups, and was "also prepared to pay for" weapons they no longer needed.

He said his group was ready "to cooperate and play a constructive role" by supervising the transfer and storage of weapons, and receiving specialised weapons such as cruise missiles, for which "there are no experts within state agencies".

Kataeb Hezbollah insists it will not discuss its weapons so long as foreign forces remain deployed in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region as part of a US-led international coalition formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group.

The coalition is scheduled to end its mission in the Kurdistan region by September.

Earlier this month, a senior US State Department official had demanded Iraq take "concrete actions" on pro-Iran armed groups, preconditioning renewed support on "expelling terrorist militias from any state institution" and cutting off payments to them.

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important waterways, was closed by Iran on 2 March after joint US-Israeli strikes on the country in late February.

Since April, Yemen’s government’s National Committee for Regulating and Financing Imports said it has been facing great difficulty in approving import requests submitted by traders. 

The committee added that this could spell dire consequences for supplies and eventually result in price hikes, making basic food items out of reach for ordinary citizens.

In response to this risk, the Ministry of Finance of the internationally recognised government instructed the Customs Authority to impose temporary countervailing measures of 20% of the value of imports of flour and bottled drinking water.

The measures took effect at the beginning of May and will remain in place for six months.

The decision comes in response to a memorandum from the Prime Minister’s office addressing ongoing food insecurity and efforts to ensure the stability of strategic reserves.

A Yemen-based retailer, Mohammed al-Nahari, told The New Arab that the quantities of goods he typically orders from wholesalers are no longer available in vast amounts, as a result of the regional tensions.

Another retailer, Bassam al-Wassabi, said some wholesalers have been refusing to fulfil full orders for basic goods due to the shortages and price increases.

In recent months, wholesalers have reportedly resorted to rationing items distributed to retailers, by around 30 to 50 per cent.

Imported beverages, cheeses and dairy products are the categories most affected, with their quantities having decreased to around 60 per cent.

Economic analyst Radwan Farea told The New Arab that the situation would have worsened and descended into a full catastrophe had the Houthis intervened in the conflict and closed the Bab al-Mandab Strait in support of Iran.

He said this would have caused an unprecedented surge in the price of commodities, transport and insurance premiums.

The head of the Aden Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abubakr Baadbid, said that if the situation continues as it currently is, it will pose a real threat to commodity stocks.

Economic researcher Issa Abu Haliqa also told The New Arab that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also affected the agricultural sector in Yemen, with fertiliser and seed prices rising due to shipping firms having to alter their routes, and insurance costs doubling.

He also explained that the rise in global energy prices has contributed to inflation, disruptions to supply chains, and prolonged power outages.

The development comes as the International Rescue Committee reported earlier this year that Yemen is entering its most dangerous food security phase in years. 

The report said that around 18 million people are expected to be facing worsening levels of food insecurity at the start of this year, and that an additional one million will face life-threatening hunger.

In March, the UN warned the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was exacerbating the food crisis in several countries, including Yemen.

At the time, Jorge Moreira da Silva, the executive director of the United Nations office for project services (UNOPS), explained that the escalation in the region will have immediate consequences in Asia and Africa. 

The squad lineup featured few surprises, except for the inclusion of rising striker Hamza Abdel Karim. The 18-year-old is on loan from Egyptian giants Al Ahly to Barcelona Atletic, the reserve side of the La Liga champions.

Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush, who scored eight goals in 36 appearances for his club this season, is expected to lead Egypt’s attack in the tournament.

Egypt will begin their World Cup campaign against Belgium on June 15 in Seattle as part of Group G, which also includes New Zealand and Iran.

The team will play their final friendly match against Brazil on June 6 in Ohio.

Egypt squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), El-Mahdi Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El Gouna).

Defenders: Mohamed Abdelmonem (Nice), Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Hossam Abdelmaguid, Ahmed Fattouh (Zamalek), Tarek Alaa (ZED), Rami Rabia (Al Ain), Hamdi Fathi (Al Wakrah), Karim Hafez (Pyramids).

Midfielders: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Marwan Attia, Ahmed Mostafa “Zizo”, Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet”, Emam Ashour (Al Ahly), Mostafa Abdel Raouf, Mohannad Lasheen (Pyramids), Haitham Hassan (Real Oviedo), Mahmoud Saber (ZED), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjælland), Nabil Emad (Al-Najma).

Forwards: Omar Marmoush (Manchester City), Hamza Abdel Karim (Barcelona Atletic).

In a post on X, Rubio praised Barrack's work and signalled that the US ambassador to Turkey would retain a prominent role in the Trump administration's regional strategy.

"Ambassador Tom Barrack has played an invaluable role as our Special Envoy to Syria. While this title has come to an end, he will continue to serve in a pivotal role for the Trump Administration in both Syria and Iraq," Rubio wrote.

"His expertise, relationships, and understanding of the America First agenda will continue to deliver gains for our great country."

Barrack, a Lebanese-American real estate billionaire and longtime ally of US President Donald Trump, chaired Trump's 2017 inauguration committee.

Although he held no formal government position during Trump's first term, he remained a close adviser and sought to advance commercial initiatives in the Middle East, including nuclear energy projects in Saudi Arabia.

During Trump's second term, Barrack was appointed US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria and Iraq. He has played a central role in the administration's Syria policy, including efforts that contributed to the lifting of US sanctions on Damascus.

The announcement comes months after the Trump administration informed Congress of plans to move forward with reopening the US embassy in Damascus, which has remained closed since 2012 during the uprising against former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

According to the Associated Press, a notification sent to congressional committees said the move formed part of "implementing a phased approach toward a possible resumption of embassy operations in Syria".

Barrack has emerged as one of the strongest advocates within the administration for engagement with Syria's new leadership following the fall of Assad.

Following a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on 17 May, Barrack described Syria as "a laboratory for a new regional alliance based on diplomacy, integration and hope for the entire region".

The envoy said that a meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia had opened a new chapter in relations, marked by the lifting of sanctions and giving Syria an opportunity to achieve "greatness".

"It is a bold and hopeful gesture for Syria and the region," Barrack wrote.

"Under President al-Sharaa's leadership, and through the sincere diplomacy of Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, the progress achieved has been remarkable. The opportunities ahead promise accelerated progress for the Syrian people and lasting stability."

Barrack has also highlighted ongoing talks between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), describing them as part of Syria's historic transformation.

He stressed the importance of dialogue, institution-building and a shared commitment to "a stable, peaceful and unified Syria" for all its people.

Israel's military issued evacuation warnings on Saturday for residents of 13 villages in southern Lebanon and pushed deeper into the country, even as military delegations from Beirut and Tel Aviv held landmark security talks in Washington.

The delegations held talks at the Pentagon and ahead of US-brokered negotiations early next week - the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted.

Israel has kept up its heavy bombardment of southern Lebanon, with President Joseph Aoun emphasising in a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "the need to exert all efforts to reach a ceasefire".

A truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah officially took effect on 17 April, but has never been observed, and Iran insists that Lebanon be included in any agreement with the United States to end the wider war that engulfed the region in February.

Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the other's alleged breaches.

The Israeli military's evacuation warnings for Saturday included some villages near Nabatiyeh in the heart of south Lebanon.

Also on Saturday, Hezbollah said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.

The group later said it ambushed Israeli soldiers near the village of Ghandouriyeh, saying it forced them to withdraw, and fired rockets at a military base in north Israel.

On Friday, Hezbollah had said it launched attacks in northern Israel and Israel's military confirmed intercepting several projectiles from Lebanon, with one hitting near Kiryat Shmona.

Hezbollah also said it attacked Israeli troops trying to advance near the medieval Beaufort fortress, also known as Qalaat al-Chqeef, which Israel's forces had used as a base during their two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

Netanyahu announced Friday that Israeli forces had advanced beyond the Litani River that runs around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the Lebanon-Israel frontier.

"Our forces have crossed the Litani, they have moved up to the commanding terrain," he said, adding Israel was "hitting Hezbollah head on".

Wave of displacement

Israel and Lebanon began direct talks in April, with a fourth round expected next week in Washington following Friday's meeting at the Pentagon, running parallel to US efforts to strike a deal with Iran to end the regional war.

Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's second-in-command, called the discussions "productive" in a post on X.

Israeli strikes in the southern city of Tyre killed 11 people on Friday, according to Lebanon's health ministry, which called the bombardment a "flagrant violation of humanitarian law".

Lebanon was drawn deeper into the regional war when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in early March in retaliation for the death of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes. Israel had already been violating a 2024 ceasefire with near-daily attacks on Lebanon.

Hezbollah strongly opposes the talks with Israel and has refused to disarm.

On Friday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on more than 20 locations in the south.

Hundreds of people have fled to the usually touristic old city of Tyre, which has not been included in recent Israeli army evacuation orders issued for the rest of the city and surrounding areas.

With shelters full, displaced residents were sleeping in cars or tents, an AFP correspondent said.

"The situation is very difficult. Tyre is a peaceful, touristic city. We never imagined going through this," said Karam Amin, 43, whose family of seven have been sleeping in his clothing shop.

Lebanon's health ministry said on Friday Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,355 people since 2 March 2 - an increase of 31 compared to Thursday when Israeli carried out its first airstrike near Beirut in weeks.

Two people were injured in the first drone hit on a residential building outside Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Romania called the incident a "serious and irresponsible escalation" by its neighbour and expelled a Russian diplomat in a first response.

But Putin said Russia "has never threatened and is not threatening European countries".

"No one can say the origin of this or that aircraft until an examination of that aircraft is conducted," he said during a visit to Kazakhstan.

"If they provide us with any objective data... in that case, we will assess what happened."

Romania's Defence Minister Radu-Dinel Miruta told a press conference that the serial numbers on the missile showed it was "undoubtedly" Russian.

What happened?

The drone hit the roof of an apartment building in the centre of the city of Galati, close to the border with Ukraine. It set off a fire and a 14-year-old boy and 53-year-old woman were taken to hospital, officials said.

Dozens of drones have drifted into Romania since the start of the Ukraine war, but no residential buildings had previously been hit.

The Romanian defence ministry said two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in response to the drone, which it said entered Romania's airspace during Russian strikes on Ukraine.

Why wasn't the drone stopped?

Romanian forces had insufficient time - four minutes - to shoot down the drone, General Gheorghe Maxim from the Joint Forces Command said. There were "no realistic opportunities to engage it safely", he added.

A senior NATO military official said: "NATO detected and tracked the Russian drone, but it entered Romanian airspace only minutes before striking the apartment building in Galati."

The official said the drone was moving at nearly 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour and Galati was less than 15 km (nine miles) from the border.

How has Romania responded?

Romania summoned the Russian ambassador, and President Nicusor Dan convened a national defence council meeting on "the most serious incident to have affected our national territory" since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Dan said Romania would expel the Russian consul general in the city of Constanta and close the mission. Russia said it was preparing "retaliatory measures".

The Russian embassy said no proof had been given that the drone was Russian. Romania's Defence Minister Radu-Dinel Miruta invited Russian officials to inspect the drone debris.

"Based on the serial numbers of the components found there, this is undoubtedly a Russian-made product," he said.

Dan said that in a conversation, NATO chief Mark Rutte had promised help to get air defence equipment "as quickly as possible". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has also promised help.

Inhabitants of Galati questioned why there were not anti-drone systems in the city so close to the frontier.

Dan - whose country faces political turmoil after the prime minister was ousted in a no-confidence vote this month - was booed when he visited the site of the crash, with some chanting "resignation".

What have the EU and its allies said?

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Russia's "war of aggression" had "crossed yet another line", pledging to increase deterrence on the EU's eastern border.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the incident showed Russia's "willingness to escalate", and Britain's Keir Starmer condemned the "serious violation of NATO airspace".

France said it had summoned the Russian ambassador. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned what he called a "serious violation of NATO airspace".

The US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, also slammed the "reckless incursion", saying: "We stand with our NATO ally."

What will NATO do next?

"Russia's reckless behaviour is a danger to us all," NATO chief Rutte wrote on social media.

"NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory."

NATO sources said there was no indication whether Romania would call for emergency consultations.

Such consultations have been called three times during Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine: the first just after the invasion in 2022, once by Poland after incursions by Russian drones, and once by Estonia after Russian fighter jets violated its airspace.

Confirming this to Novara Media on Thursday, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) said Harriman's complaints against the Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Times fell within its remit and that they "may raise a breach of the Editors' Code of Practice".

The complaints relate to articles published by the four newspapers in May, which Harriman and his supporters say falsely portrayed him as promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Harriman is a Nigerian-born photographer and activist who has gained a large following for his commentary on social justice issues, particularly his advocacy for Palestinian rights during Israel's war on Gaza. He has chaired London's Southbank Centre since 2021.

The reports prompted a campaign led by NewsCord, an online platform focused on challenging media bias, which encouraged readers to submit complaints to IPSO.

While no decision has been made, the newspapers have 28 days to resolve the matter with Harriman before it is escalated to IPSO's complaints officer.

"It's promising," Nima Akram, founder of NewsCord, told The New Arab.

"I truly believe it's because of the massive volume of complaints that just cannot be ignored," he added. 

IPSO confirmed to Novara that it received 22,390 complaints in May regarding coverage of Harriman, more than three times the total number of complaints the regulator received in 2025.

Although IPSO did not make a formal announcement regarding the complaints, the regulator did comment on the "mass complaint" made through a "third-party platform", which was confirmed to be NewsCord.

The regulator announced last week that it had referred NewsCord to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), a regulator for upholding information rights, data privacy for individuals, and openness by public bodies.

IPSO said it had received a large number of complaints that may have been generated using AI, as well as complaints from members of the public who said they did not understand their data would be shared with the regulator.

Responding to the announcement, Akram said he was "happy" for the ICO to investigate NewsCord.

"We've done everything in good faith, we've asked for consent, users were well aware of every action they were taking," Akram said. "Our use of AI was simply around the complaint template and personalising that using the user's information, and we were very clear about this."

Akram said NewsCord had been "very clear" about the complaints campaign, and had remained in contact with IPSO throughout the process and updated its action page to address privacy concerns.

Based on IPSO's previous rulings, Akram said he hopes the four outlets will issue a formal apology, provide an update at the top of each article, or retract the pieces.

"These outlets can no longer just spread hatred or spread misinformation and just target people with complete impunity," Akram said.

"This is us showing and proving actually people have a voice, and we have a process that works, and we have a way to hold power to account, to hold the media accountable, and this is probably our strongest signal of that playing out."

"Our ability to recommence if necessary...we are more than capable," Hegseth said in remarks made from Singapore. "Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we're in a very good place," he added.

The Pentagon chief said President Donald Trump was "patient" and wants to make a "great deal" that ensures Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his country's forces had pushed deeper into Lebanon, even as military delegations from both countries held landmark security talks in Washington.

Israel kept up its heavy bombardment of southern Lebanon, with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun emphasising in a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "the need to exert all efforts to reach a ceasefire".

At least 60 water stations have been partially or completely disabled, while more than 5,000 dunams of agricultural land have been submerged, according to local authorities, raising concerns over worsening humanitarian and economic impacts.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the province on Friday alongside senior ministers to assess the damage and oversee response efforts. During meetings with local dignitaries, he discussed the fallout from the flooding and measures being taken to contain it, as well as broader service and development challenges facing the region.

The surge in water levels has affected large stretches along the Euphrates in both Deir ez-Zor and neighbouring Raqqa province, disrupting essential infrastructure and threatening further damage if flows continue at current rates.

Deir ez-Zor governor Ziad al-Ayesh said an emergency response committee and round-the-clock operations room had been activated to monitor developments. Authorities have carried out precautionary evacuations in high-risk areas and set up temporary shelters, while deploying equipment to support damaged water stations.

Officials also announced plans to begin construction of new bridges, including the long-discussed al-Siyasiya bridge, in a bid to improve infrastructure and mobility in the province.

Raed al-Saleh, minister of emergency and disaster management, said the scale of damage in Deir ez-Zor exceeded that recorded in Raqqa. He acknowledged that Syria previously lacked an effective early warning system, adding that efforts are now underway to develop one capable of delivering timely alerts to residents.

Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said Turkey had issued late warnings about rising water levels, describing the current water releases into Syria as unprecedented in the past three decades.

However, the Syrian Ministry of Energy said coordination with Ankara had led to a reduction in water inflows via the Euphrates. Technical teams at the Euphrates Dam have already reduced discharge by 100 cubic metres per second through partial closure of one spillway gate, with further gradual reductions expected in the coming days.

In the health sector, authorities have mobilised medical teams and dispatched emergency supplies to affected areas. Health Minister Musab al-Ali said hospitals west of the river remain better equipped, while temporary medical points have been established on the eastern bank, where services are more limited.

He also announced the rehabilitation of a key cardiac hospital in Deir ez-Zor, part of broader efforts to strengthen the province’s strained healthcare system.

Agriculture Minister Basel al-Suwaidan said field teams had begun assessing damage to crops, irrigation networks and farmland, with plans to support affected farmers. Emergency measures include providing livestock feed, veterinary medicines and technical assistance, alongside efforts to protect vulnerable agricultural areas.

The government says it is coordinating across ministries to contain the crisis, assess losses and compensate those affected. Officials are also monitoring dams and irrigation systems to prevent further flooding and safeguard nearby communities.

At a three-hour virtual meeting on Tuesday, nearly 7,000 members of the Park Slope Food Coop took part in the vote – with 67 percent backing the measure, 31 percent opposing it and 2 percent abstaining.

Members first approved a separate rule change lowering the threshold for boycott measures from a 75 percent supermajority to a simple majority – clearing the way for the proposal to pass.

The decision commits the grocery cooperative to stop stocking goods produced in Israel, as well as Israeli goods made in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, until Israel complies with international law in its treatment of Palestinians.

The boycott affects fewer than a dozen items, including some varieties of tahini, olive oil, produce and Israeli snacks – but its political significance has been far greater than its commercial impact.

Following the vote, the products were immediatley removed from the shelves. 

Supporters presented the vote as a concrete act of solidarity with Palestinians, and linked it to the wider Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for economic pressure on Israel over its occupation and treatment of Palestinians.

Backers also argued that the coop has a long history of ethical consumer campaigns and said the measure was consistent with that tradition.

The vote followed years of organising and internal conflict within the coop, with the debate intensifying during Israel's war on Gaza.

The issue has split members sharply, with campaigners on both sides accusing the other of intimidation and bad faith, and coop management reportedly increasing security after threats, hostile messages and suspicious mail.

Opponents, including some Jewish members, rabbis and pro-Israel advocacy groups, condemned the measure as discriminatory and claimed that singling out Israel amounted to antisemitism rather than principled human rights advocacy. Supporters rejected that accusation, saying the campaign targets Israeli state policy, not Jewish identity, noting that some Jewish members also backed the boycott.

The decision has already prompted legal threats. The National Jewish Advocacy Center sent a cease-and-desist letter to the coop, while a separate complaint was filed with New York's Division of Human Rights alleging the boycott violates anti-discrimination law.