Iraq Collects Humanitarian Donations for Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani holds a meeting with the Coordination Framework forces on Saturday evening (Iraqi government)
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani holds a meeting with the Coordination Framework forces on Saturday evening (Iraqi government)
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Iraq Collects Humanitarian Donations for Gaza

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani holds a meeting with the Coordination Framework forces on Saturday evening (Iraqi government)
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani holds a meeting with the Coordination Framework forces on Saturday evening (Iraqi government)

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani held a meeting with the Shiite Coordination Framework coalition over the developments in Gaza after which he gave directives that donations be collected and dispatched to the besieged Gazans in occupied Palestine.

The attendees condemned the ongoing Zionist attack in the occupied territories, the direct targeting of civilians, and the brutal siege implemented by the occupation authorities on the Gaza Strip, which aggravated the humanitarian conditions of the Palestinians.

They also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and work to stop the violations committed against the Palestinians.

The attendees then voiced appreciation of Iraq's government positions, the positions of the people and parliament, and the stance of the supreme religious authority in Najaf. They called for the continuation of popular and national demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause.

They also expressed their thanks to the Iraqi government for its courageous stance in defending the Palestinian people, stressing the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts with countries of the world in order to protect the Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Major General Yahia Rasool, said the army received direct donations and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people. “On Sunday, humanitarian aid will be delivered all day to the Palestinian people,” he noted.

On Saturday evening, the Iraqi Parliament, headed by Speaker Muhammed al-Halbousi, held a session to discuss the siege and brutal bombing of the Gaza Strip and the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Palestine.

“The heads of the parliamentary blocs expressed their firm positions towards the Palestinian issue, voicing support and solidarity with the Palestinian people, and rejecting the brutal crimes committed by the usurping Zionist entity, including genocidal massacres against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the unjust siege it imposes on its residents,” according to a statement by the Media Office of the Parliament, received by the Iraqi News Agency, INA.

The MPs condemned “the brutal practices and crimes committed by the Zionist occupation forces against the Palestinian people,” renewing the call for the Arab League to hold an emergency session to condemn the aggression against Gaza and open ways to deliver humanitarian, medical and food aid to the Gaza Strip.

Also, they called on the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union to adopt a unified and serious position to call on the international community to lift the injustice against the Palestinian people and not use the war machine to exterminate them. They expressed their categorical rejection of the Zionist entity’s policy of forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Meanwhile, several political and parliamentary forces called on Iraqi authorities to reconsider the country’s relationship with Washington, due to the US full support of Israel.

Iraqi political and parliamentary forces demanded that the Iraqi political leadership, including the government and parliament, boycott US Ambassador in Baghdad, Alina Romansky, who holds several weekly meetings with the majority of Iraqi political and party leaders, including the leaders of the Shiite Coordination Framework.

In this regard, the Nabni coalition called for an end to the forced displacements carried out by Israel against citizens in the Gaza Strip.



Israel Permits 10,000 West Bank Palestinians for Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa

Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
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Israel Permits 10,000 West Bank Palestinians for Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa

Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer

Israel announced that it will cap the number of Palestinian worshippers from the occupied West Bank attending weekly Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem at 10,000 during the holy month of Ramadan, which began Wednesday.

Israeli authorities also imposed age restrictions on West Bank Palestinians, permitting entry only to men aged 55 and older, women aged 50 and older, and children up to age 12.

"Ten thousand Palestinian worshippers will be permitted to enter the Temple Mount for Friday prayers throughout the month of Ramadan, subject to obtaining a dedicated daily permit in advance," COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry agency in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement, AFP reported.

"Entry for men will be permitted from age 55, for women from age 50, and for children up to age 12 when accompanied by a first-degree relative."

COGAT told AFP that the restrictions apply only to Palestinians travelling from the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"It is emphasised that all permits are conditional upon prior security approval by the relevant security authorities," COGAT said.

"In addition, residents travelling to prayers at the Temple Mount will be required to undergo digital documentation at the crossings upon their return to the areas of Judea and Samaria at the conclusion of the prayer day," it said, using the Biblical term for the West Bank.

During Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed in a move that is not internationally recognized.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the attendance of worshippers has declined due to security concerns and Israeli restrictions.

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said this week that Israeli authorities had prevented the Islamic Waqf -- the Jordanian-run body that administers the site -- from carrying out routine preparations ahead of Ramadan, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.

A senior imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad al-Abbasi, told AFP that he, too, had been barred from entering the compound.

"I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed," he said.

Abbasi said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect on Monday.

Under longstanding arrangements, Jews may visit the Al-Aqsa compound -- which they revere as the site of the first and second Jewish temples -- but they are not permitted to pray there.

Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.

In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.


EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The European Union is exploring possible support for a new committee established to take over the civil administration of Gaza, according to a document produced by the bloc's diplomatic arm and seen by Reuters.

"The EU is engaging with the newly established transitional governance structures for Gaza," the European External Action Service wrote in a document circulated to member states on Tuesday.

"The EU is also exploring possible support to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza," it added.

European foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza during a meeting in Brussels on February 23.


Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.