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Trump Reportedly Planning to Appoint US General to Command ISF in Gaza

A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Trump Reportedly Planning to Appoint US General to Command ISF in Gaza

A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A Palestinian man rides his bicycle through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

President Donald Trump is planning to appoint an American two-star general to command the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, according to two US officials and two Israeli officials.

Despite the claims, Axios quoted a White House official as saying there have been discussions around the composition of the ISF, the Board of Peace, and a technocratic Palestinian government, "but no definitive decisions have been made or communicated."

The October 10 ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City's ruins. Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased.

But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 383 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, and it has attacked scores of fighters.

On Thursday, medics said at least one Palestinian woman was killed, and some other people were wounded in Israeli tank shelling in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military didn't offer immediate comment. Medics had earlier said two women were killed in the Jabalia incident.

The second phase of the ceasefire deal involves the Israeli army pulling farther back, the ISF deploying to Gaza, and a new governing structure coming into force, including the Trump-led Board of Peace.

The UN Security Council recently authorized both the ISF and the board.

Trump told reporters Wednesday that he's planning to announce the Gaza Board of Peace in early 2026.

According to Axios, two Israeli officials said US Ambassador Mike Waltz to the UN, who visited Israel this week, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials that the Trump administration is going to lead the ISF and appoint a two-star general as its commander.

"Waltz even said he knows the general personally and stressed he is a very serious guy," one Israeli official said.

The Israeli officials said Waltz stressed that having an American general in charge of the ISF should give Israel confidence it will operate according to appropriate standards.

Two US officials confirmed that the plan is to appoint a US general to lead the ISF.

The US has proposed that former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov serve as Board of Peace representative on the ground in Gaza, working with a future Palestinian technocratic government, sources with knowledge said.

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Arab World

Ten ISIS Suspects from Türkiye Arrested in Syria

Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Ten ISIS Suspects from Türkiye Arrested in Syria

Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Turkish soldiers are seen in the center of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Ten Turkish citizens accused of being ISIS members have been arrested in Syria, Turkish state media said on Saturday.

The 10 -- for whom Interpol had issued international alerts, or Red Notices -- were apprehended in a joint operation by the Turkish and Syrian intelligence services, they said.

Nine of the 10 were returned to Türkiye, said the Anadolu news agency and state TV channel TRT.

One is suspected of having ties to the perpetrators of an attack in Ankara's central railway station in late 2015, in which more than 100 people died.

Two others are accused of planning or participating in attacks on Turkish soldiers deployed in northern Syria.

Turkish state media said the 10 were thought to have joined ISIS between 2014 and 2017. They did not say exactly when or where the suspects were arrested.

Arab World

Iraqi Court Hears First Challenge to Zaidi’s Premiership

This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
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Iraqi Court Hears First Challenge to Zaidi’s Premiership

This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office shows Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi giving an address after assuming office in Baghdad on May 16, 2026. (Photo by IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court has set July 1 for its first hearing in a lawsuit challenging the validity of Ali al-Zaidi’s designation as prime minister, the first legal move of its kind since the current government was formed.

The court date comes as political forces that failed to push through their ministerial nominees look for legal ways to challenge parliamentary voting procedures, amid a deepening dispute over the constitutional mechanisms for forming the government.

Former lawmaker Raad al-Maliki said in a press statement that he had received the official notice by email, along with a response memorandum submitted by the president’s representative in the case.

The memorandum, according to Maliki, argued that the plaintiff had no legal interest in the case and that the claim had been directed at the wrong party. It said the designation, in the plaintiff’s view, was made by the largest parliamentary bloc, not by the president.

It also raised issues related to the nominee’s competence, political ties and ownership of media outlets, and whether these could create a conflict of interest after he took office.

Al-Zaidi, a businessman who owns companies with his brother and partners, including Al-Oweis, Al-Janoob, and Dijlah TV, remains a little-known figure in Iraqi politics. His designation caught political circles by surprise.

The memorandum said that, after taking office, senior officials must give up private interests to avoid conflicts of interest or risk legal accountability.

Maliki said he would press ahead with the lawsuit and file a detailed response to the arguments presented. He said the challenge concerned “public law” and should not be tied to direct personal interest.

Legal view

Constitutional expert Ali al-Tamimi said the Federal Supreme Court, which operates under Law No. 30 of 2005 and its amended rules of procedure, first reviews legal interest and proper standing before considering the substance of a case.

He said the court would examine whether the designation was constitutional under Article 76, whether the requirements for nominating the prime minister and completing the cabinet had been met, and whether the parliamentary vote was valid.

Tamimi said the court could seek additional evidence, including recordings or the testimony of technical experts. He said predicting its decisions was “extremely difficult,” and that it could either reject or accept the case.

On the political side, Tamimi said al-Zaidi was a “consensus candidate” after former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki withdrew from the race. He said al-Zaidi’s nomination had the support of a major parliamentary bloc within complex political balances.

Tamimi said the court could delay its ruling for more than a month, adding that its decisions are final, binding and cannot be appealed.

Arab World

Last Australians Leave Syria Camp Holding Suspected Militant Relatives

Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
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Last Australians Leave Syria Camp Holding Suspected Militant Relatives

Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
Zeinab Ahmad, one of two women linked to alleged ISIS militants, is seen being taken away in an armored police vehicle outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on May 8, 2026, following her court appearance. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

The last Australian women and children held in a northeast Syria camp housing relatives of suspected foreign militants left the site this week seeking to return home, a camp official told AFP on Saturday.

"Twenty-one Australians left Roj camp" on Thursday -- seven women and 14 children, aged eight to 14 -- the Kurdish administrative official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Syrian Kurdish forces control the Roj camp, where relatives of suspected foreign militants including Westerners have been held for years.

"They were handed over to the Syrian government and transferred to the Syrian capital with the aim of sending them to Australia," the official said, adding: "There are no more Australians remaining in Roj."

Earlier this month, 13 more Australians -- four women and their nine children -- flew home from Syria.

Two of the women, a mother and a daughter, were arrested on arrival, with police accusing them of having kept a female slave after travelling to Syria in 2014 to support the ISIS, and of crimes against humanity.

They had been detained by Kurdish forces in 2019.

A third woman was also arrested on arrival in Australia and charged with entering a restricted area and joining a "terrorist organization.”

The fourth woman was not arrested.

Small groups of women and children flew back to Australia in 2019, 2022 and 2025.