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Hamas Releases Hostage Video Claiming to Show Living Hostage

Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)
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Hamas Releases Hostage Video Claiming to Show Living Hostage

Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold banners and photos during a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 30 (EPA)

Hamas released a video claiming to show Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker in captivity on Saturday.

In the video a man who introduces himself as Matan Zangauker, 24, can be seen pleading with the Israeli leaders to make a deal that would bring captives being held by Hamas in Gaza back to Israel, Reuters reported.

Mediating countries, including Qatar, see increased momentum for a possible deal that could allow the 100 hostages being held in Gaza to be released in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners, after Israel signed a landmark ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon last month.

Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has travelled to Qatar and Israel to try to kickstart the US president-elect's diplomatic push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal before he takes office on Jan. 20, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Hamas has released several videos of hostages begging to be released over the course of the war as it enters its fifteenth month, but Israeli officials have dismissed the short, edited clips as psychological propaganda meant to put pressure on the government.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents hostage family members, called the video "proof of life" and said that it "provides further evidence that after more than 420 days in captivity, there are hostages still alive and enduring severe suffering".

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Arab World

Baghdad Denounces Strikes on Iran, Warns against Involving Iraq

An Iraqi security officer stands on a watchtower in Baghdad (dpa)
An Iraqi security officer stands on a watchtower in Baghdad (dpa)
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Baghdad Denounces Strikes on Iran, Warns against Involving Iraq

An Iraqi security officer stands on a watchtower in Baghdad (dpa)
An Iraqi security officer stands on a watchtower in Baghdad (dpa)

Iraqi authorities denounced US-Israeli strikes on neighboring Iran and warned against drawing Iraq into the conflict, after two people were killed in airstrikes in the country's south.

Sabah Al-Numan, the military spokesman for the prime minister, said that Iraq "condemned the unjustified aggression against the Islamic Republic", and "warned of the consequences of the blatant aggression" against Iraqi sites, AFP reported.

He also warned against using Iraq's airspace and territory "as a corridor or launching point for aggression against Iran", adding that Iraq "equally rejects the use of its land or territorial waters as a means of dragging the country into the conflict."

Arab World

PMF Spokesperson: Airstrikes Kill at Least 2 in Iraq’s Jurf al-Sakhar

Vehicles drive across a bridge following Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Vehicles drive across a bridge following Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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PMF Spokesperson: Airstrikes Kill at Least 2 in Iraq’s Jurf al-Sakhar

Vehicles drive across a bridge following Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Vehicles drive across a bridge following Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

At least two Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces fighters were killed and three others seriously wounded after explosions occurred following airstrikes ⁠in Jurf al-Sakhar, south ⁠of Baghdad, a PMF spokesperson told Reuters on ⁠Saturday.

Search operations are ongoing for possible casualties, he added.

The explosions took place as the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday.

Trump had built up a vast US military presence in the region to try to force Tehran to make concessions in the nuclear talks. He said the "massive" operation was intended to ensure Tehran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.

The attack follows a 12-day air war last June between Israel and Iran and repeated US-Israeli warnings that they would strike again if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Arab World

Lebanese Officials Warn Against Dragging Country into ‘Adventures’

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Qatrani on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Qatrani on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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Lebanese Officials Warn Against Dragging Country into ‘Adventures’

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Qatrani on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese area of al-Qatrani on February 28, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Lebanese officials warned on Saturday against dragging Lebanon into the region’s conflict after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

President Joseph Aoun said that “protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and stability, and shielding it from the disasters of external conflicts is an absolute priority.”

He called for unified efforts and solidarity to confront the challenges.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also said he would not accept anyone dragging "the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity,” in an indirect message to Hezbollah.

“In light of the serious developments unfolding in the region, I once ⁠again call on all Lebanese to act with wisdom and patriotism, placing Lebanon and the Lebanese people’s interests above any other consideration," Salam said in a statement.

"I reiterate that we will not accept anyone dragging the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity,” he added.

Salam’s statement came after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran amid reports that Israel had warned Lebanon that it would strike the country hard, targeting civilian infrastructure including the airport, in the event that Hezbollah gets involved in any regional war.

United Nations Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that the Lebanese people “have survived and withstood crisis after crisis.”

“We cannot afford to be dragged into another one,” she warned, saying that all Lebanese parties “must prioritize, in words and actions, the need to shield the country and its people from unfolding regional developments.”

Earlier, Israel's military said that it carried out strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in south Lebanon.