Abbas Urges Removal of Israeli 'Obstacles' on Gaza Ceasefire

A photograph shows tents and makeshift shelters at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on a foggy day on February 14, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)
A photograph shows tents and makeshift shelters at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on a foggy day on February 14, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)
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Abbas Urges Removal of Israeli 'Obstacles' on Gaza Ceasefire

A photograph shows tents and makeshift shelters at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on a foggy day on February 14, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)
A photograph shows tents and makeshift shelters at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on a foggy day on February 14, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called on Saturday for the removal of "all obstacles" he said Israel has imposed on the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, in a speech at an African Union summit in Ethiopia.

"We emphasize the need to lift all obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation on the implementation of the provisions related to the second phase of the agreement," Abbas said.

This included the work of a technocratic committee established to oversee the day-to-day governance of Gaza, he added in a speech read by his prime minister Mohammed Mustafa.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October as part of a US plan to end the war in Gaza. Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violations.

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the territory since the ceasefire began.



Zelensky Arrives in Damascus for Talks with Syrian President

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, September 2025 (Ukrainian President’s account)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, September 2025 (Ukrainian President’s account)
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Zelensky Arrives in Damascus for Talks with Syrian President

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, September 2025 (Ukrainian President’s account)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, September 2025 (Ukrainian President’s account)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Damascus together with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, for talks with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, a senior official familiar with the matter told AFP.

Zelensky's plane "landed in Damascus", said the official, adding that "cooperation between countries" and the "security situation in the region" were on the agenda.

Also, two Syrian ⁠sources told Reuters ‌on ‌Sunday that Zelenskiy has made his first visit to ‌Syria ‌to ​hold ‌a ⁠meeting with ​his Syrian counterpart.

The ​talks ‌were ‌linked to defense in light ‌of the regional war, one ⁠of ⁠the sources, a government adviser, said.


Lebanese Army Says Soldier Killed in Israeli Attack in Southern Lebanon

A Lebanese army soldier inspects the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted their checkpoint in Aamriyeh, south of the coastal city of Tyre, on March 30, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
A Lebanese army soldier inspects the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted their checkpoint in Aamriyeh, south of the coastal city of Tyre, on March 30, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
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Lebanese Army Says Soldier Killed in Israeli Attack in Southern Lebanon

A Lebanese army soldier inspects the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted their checkpoint in Aamriyeh, south of the coastal city of Tyre, on March 30, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
A Lebanese army soldier inspects the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted their checkpoint in Aamriyeh, south of the coastal city of Tyre, on March 30, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)

The Lebanese army said on Sunday that a soldier had been killed in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike hit south Beirut on Sunday, Lebanese state media reported, with a medical source telling AFP it made impact about 100 metres away from a public hospital.

The strike hit Beirut's Jnah neighborhood near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the largest public medical facility in the country.

Israel's military earlier warned it was carrying out strikes on Beirut.


Israeli Fire Kills Four Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

Palestinians inspect a vehicle targeted by an Israeli strike in Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on April 4, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect a vehicle targeted by an Israeli strike in Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on April 4, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Fire Kills Four Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

Palestinians inspect a vehicle targeted by an Israeli strike in Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on April 4, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect a vehicle targeted by an Israeli strike in Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on April 4, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli airstrike ‌killed four Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health authorities said, in the latest violence to overshadow a fragile ceasefire amid a new push by mediators to bolster the agreement.

Medics said the airstrike targeted a group of people in Jaffa Street, near the Darraj neighborhood in Gaza City, killing four people and wounding others.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on ‌the incident.

Palestinian ‌group Hamas and Israel have ‌traded blame ⁠for violations of ⁠the ceasefire agreed last October, which halted two years of full-blown war.

The Gaza health ministry says Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire began. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by gunmen in Gaza ⁠over the same period.

A Hamas delegation met ‌Egyptian, Qatari and ‌Turkish mediators in Cairo last week to give its initial ‌response to a disarmament proposal presented to the ‌group last month, two Egyptian sources and a Palestinian official said.

The group has told mediators it will not discuss giving up arms without guarantees that Israel ‌will fully quit Gaza as laid out in a disarmament plan from ⁠US President ⁠Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", three sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Hamas' disarmament is a sticking point in talks to implement Trump's plan for the Palestinian enclave and cement the ceasefire.

Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's ensuing two-year campaign killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gazan health authorities, and has spread famine, demolished most buildings, and displaced most of the territory's population, in many cases numerous times.