Lebanon, Jordan Assert Need to Intensify Efforts to Stop War on Gaza

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein in Amman. (Royal Hashemite Court)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein in Amman. (Royal Hashemite Court)
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Lebanon, Jordan Assert Need to Intensify Efforts to Stop War on Gaza

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein in Amman. (Royal Hashemite Court)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Hussein in Amman. (Royal Hashemite Court)

Jordan and Lebanon asserted on Sunday the need to step up the efforts to stop the war on Gaza, prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave.

King Abdullah II of Jordan received caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the presence of Crown Prince Hussein at the Royal Court in Amman.

According to a statement by the Lebanese government, the two parties stressed the importance of delivering unimpeded humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza and supporting international relief organizations working there.

The meeting also addressed the situation in Lebanon, with the monarch reaffirming Jordan's support for Lebanon's efforts to enhance its stability.

For his part, Mikati praised Jordan's efforts under the leadership of King Abdullah in defending Arab issues and working towards peace and stability.

Mikati stressed "the necessity of continuing efforts to stop the war in Gaza and reach a solution that keeps the Palestinians in their land, so that their cause remains alive and a just and final solution can be reached."

He met with his Jordanian counterpart Bisher al-Khasawneh in the presence of Jordan's Minister of State for Prime Ministerial Affairs Ibrahim al-Jazi and Lebanon's Ambassador to Jordan Youssef Emil Raji.

The talks addressed the need to intensify Arab and international efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region.

Both officials reiterated their countries' positions "in calling for ending the Israeli aggression against Gaza, ensuring the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the brothers in Gaza, and rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land."

Mikati lauded King Abdullah II's stances in supporting Arab issues, especially the Palestinian cause.

The premier explained that the efforts and communications he is making with Arab and international parties aim to ensure the cessation of the Israeli attack on Gaza, secure the sustainable arrival of aid, and reject forced displacement.

Khasawneh emphasized that Israel's impunity for its transgressions and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law by committing massacres and targeting civilians must end.

The life of the Palestinian is of no less importance than the life of any other person in the world, he asserted.

He stressed the advanced position of King Abdullah II, since the very first day of the attack against Gaza, in mobilizing international support to stop the assault and the humanitarian catastrophe facing the Palestinians and secure unimpeded access to humanitarian and medical aid.

"Jordan's diplomacy led by the King has always stressed that the cycle of this violence will not end except by ensuring a political horizon that leads to the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state," the Jordanian PM underscored.

Khasawneh explained that a sovereign Palestinian state must be established according to the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and within the framework of the two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for the region's countries and peoples.

Mikati began an Arab tour last week, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the daily attacks and violations against Lebanon.

On Saturday, he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

Mikati is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia next to participate in the emergency Arab League and Arab-African summits.



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.


Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.


Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.