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US Names Rubio, Tony Blair, Kushner to Gaza Board under Trump's Plan

Palestinians move past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, in Gaza City, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians move past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, in Gaza City, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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US Names Rubio, Tony Blair, Kushner to Gaza Board under Trump's Plan

Palestinians move past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, in Gaza City, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians move past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, in Gaza City, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

The White House on Friday announced some members of a so-called "Board of Peace" that is to supervise the temporary governance of Gaza, which has been under a fragile ceasefire since October.

The names include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump is the chair of the board, according to a plan his White House unveiled in October.

Israel and Hamas signed off on Trump's plan, which says a Palestinian technocratic body will be overseen by the international board, which will ⁠supervise Gaza's governance for a transitional period.

The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the "founding Executive board." The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said ⁠more members will be announced over the coming weeks.

The board will also include private equity executive and billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, a Trump adviser, the White House said, adding that Nickolay Mladenov, a former UN Middle East envoy, will be the high representative for Gaza.

Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, a US special operations commander, was appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force, the White House said. A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish that force in Gaza.

The White House also named an 11-member "Gaza Executive Board" that will include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East ⁠peace process, Sigrid Kaag, the United Arab Emirates minister for international cooperation, Reem Al-Hashimy, and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay, along with some members of the executive board.

This additional board will support Mladenov's office and the Palestinian technocratic body, whose details were announced this week, the White House said.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza, where more than 450 Palestinians, including over 100 children, and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed during the truce.

Israel's assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza's entire population.

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Arab World

Israel Destroys Zrariyeh Bridge in South Lebanon, Carries Out Deadly Strikes

13 March 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: A view of a building damaged by an Israeli air strike on Beirut. Photo: Sally Hayden/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
13 March 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: A view of a building damaged by an Israeli air strike on Beirut. Photo: Sally Hayden/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Israel Destroys Zrariyeh Bridge in South Lebanon, Carries Out Deadly Strikes

13 March 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: A view of a building damaged by an Israeli air strike on Beirut. Photo: Sally Hayden/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
13 March 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: A view of a building damaged by an Israeli air strike on Beirut. Photo: Sally Hayden/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The Israeli military has destroyed a key bridge on the Litani River in south Lebanon.

The military’s Arabic spokesman posted on X that the bridge destroyed in the village of Zrariyeh was used by Hezbollah fighters to move between the areas south and north of the river.

The military added that Hezbollah forces near the bridge fired rockets into Israel during the current Israel-Hezbollah war.

It appeared to be the first time in ⁠the ⁠current campaign against Hezbollah that the Israeli military acknowledged it had targeted civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike early Friday hit a car in Jnah, a coastal neighborhood in southwestern Beirut, and killed one person, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Separately, an Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Nabaa neighborhood, leaving it engulfed in flames, local media reported.

Nabaa lies on Beirut’s northern outskirts within the densely populated Burj Hammoud district. No casualties were immediately reported.

It was the first time such an area has been struck in this conflict or during the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Following the strikes, the Israeli army said it had targeted a Hezbollah member in Beirut. Both neighborhoods are far from the southern suburbs of Beirut, which the Israeli military has declared unsafe and issued evacuation notices for.

Authorities in Lebanon say 800,000 have been forced from their homes. More than 600 have been killed.

Hezbollah said early Friday that it had fired several rocket salvos toward northern Israel and Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Arab World

Lebanon Prepares for Possible Negotiations with Israel: Forming Delegation and Coordinating with Syria

A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Prepares for Possible Negotiations with Israel: Forming Delegation and Coordinating with Syria

A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)
A plume of smoke billows following reported Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 13, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon has started to make preparations ahead of the possibility of holding direct negotiations with Israel, based on an initiative proposed by President Joseph Aoun to end Israel’s war on Lebanon.

Diplomatic and political contacts have also been intensifying amid the rapid developments in Lebanon and the region.

Aoun held a joint telephone call with his Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to address the developments. They agreed to keep channels of communication open to follow up on issues, said the Lebanese presidency.

For his part, Macron underscored the importance of coordination launched by the Lebanese and Syrian leaderships, saying France will continue to support it. Sharaa backs the Lebanese authorities’ efforts to reclaim full control of its territories.

Macron called on Israel to cease its attacks on Lebanon, while accusing Hezbollah of making a “major mistake in dragging Lebanon into a confrontation with Israel.”

Ministerial sources close to the presidency told Asharq Al-Awsat that the call was made at Macron’s request, who believes that negotiations should cover various paths and should not be limited to just talks between Lebanon and Israel.

They should also include negotiations between Syria and Israel, border issues and pending affairs between them. Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, Syria and Israel and between all three could lead to connected results, especially over the border, notably the Shebaa Farms.

Lebanon has yet to receive a receptive response from the concerned parties, particularly Israel and the United States, which should sponsor any possible talks.

Regardless, the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon has kicked off steps to engage in negotiations with Israel. It has started to form a delegation that will head to Cyprus should negotiations get a green light.

The delegation will include Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, who was chosen by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to represent Sunnis, former Ambassador Simon Karam, who will represent Maronites, Shawki Abou Nassar, who will represent the Druze. Discussions are underway to name an Orthodox representative.

No Shiite has been named to the delegation, said the sources, with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri refusing to name one. He instead said that the Mechanism committee should handle talks until a ceasefire is reached.

On the diplomatic level, Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi received a telephone call from Hamish Faulkner, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to discuss the situation in Lebanon.

Faulkner expressed his country’s solidarity with Lebanon, saying it was ready to offer humanitarian support and work with the concerned parties towards a ceasefire.

Raggi also received a similar phone call from his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares.

Arab World

US Military Refueling Plane Crashes in Iraq

An F-16 fighter jet being refueled in the air by a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (CENTCOM)
An F-16 fighter jet being refueled in the air by a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (CENTCOM)
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US Military Refueling Plane Crashes in Iraq

An F-16 fighter jet being refueled in the air by a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (CENTCOM)
An F-16 fighter jet being refueled in the air by a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (CENTCOM)

An American military refueling plane taking part in the operation against Iran crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts were underway, US Central Command said Thursday.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. A US official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members aboard.

The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as “a loss.”

US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that two aircraft were involved and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq.

A second US official, who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.

“More information will be made available as the situation develops,” Central Command said. “We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members.”

The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the US military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered, the US said.

Seven American troops have been killed in combat during the Iran war so far, while about 140 US service members have been injured, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.

Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.