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Türkiye Planning Special Flights to Bring Back Activists on Gaza Flotilla

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks to the reporters at Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks to the reporters at Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Planning Special Flights to Bring Back Activists on Gaza Flotilla

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks to the reporters at Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks to the reporters at Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Türkiye, April 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Türkiye is planning special flights ​from Israel on Thursday to fly out its citizens and some activists from ‌third ‌countries ​who ‌joined ⁠a ​global aid flotilla that ⁠was intercepted by Israeli forces while trying to break ⁠its Gaza blockade, ‌Foreign ‌Minister Hakan ​Fidan ‌said.
Fidan said ‌on X that all Turkish institutions were working to ‌ensure the security and safe ⁠return ⁠of Turkish nationals. Broadcaster NTV separately said Turkish Airlines has sent three planes to Israel for the repatriations.

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Arab World

Lebanon Says Received French Invitation to Meeting on Army Support

13 August 2026, Lebanon, Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh: Lebanese army soldiers secure the premises of "Our Lady of the Annunciation" Monastery in Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh. (dpa)
13 August 2026, Lebanon, Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh: Lebanese army soldiers secure the premises of "Our Lady of the Annunciation" Monastery in Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh. (dpa)
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Lebanon Says Received French Invitation to Meeting on Army Support

13 August 2026, Lebanon, Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh: Lebanese army soldiers secure the premises of "Our Lady of the Annunciation" Monastery in Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh. (dpa)
13 August 2026, Lebanon, Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh: Lebanese army soldiers secure the premises of "Our Lady of the Annunciation" Monastery in Zawatar al-Gahrbiyeh. (dpa)

Lebanon said Wednesday it had received an invitation from France for a meeting to prepare for an international conference on support for the Lebanese army, an event postponed by the Middle East war.

The conference in Paris was supposed to take place in March but was delayed after the Hezbollah group drew Lebanon into the regional war by attacking Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Lebanon said in a statement Wednesday that President Joseph Aoun had "received from the French charge d'affaires in Lebanon, Bruno Da Silva, a letter from French President Emmanuel Macron that included an invitation for Lebanon to participate in a preparatory meeting to be held in Paris on September 17".

Aoun thanked Macron for the invitation, praising "the constant interest he shows towards Lebanon and its national institutions, foremost among them the army and the Internal Security Forces".

He said the invitation highlighted the importance of "supporting the Lebanese army with the aim of enabling it to possess the capabilities and resources necessary to carry out its responsibilities effectively".

The army "requires international support and a collective effort to meet its operational needs, logistical equipment, training and capacity building", the statement by the Lebanese presidency added.

Army chiefs from several countries, as well as representatives from governmental and international organizations, along with experts, are expected to attend the meeting, according to the presidency.

France did not announce anything on Wednesday related to the conference.

In February, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Lebanon to prepare for the event.

Beirut received pledges of international support for its troops after Lebanon's government committed to disarming Hezbollah last year and tasked the army with the process.

Hezbollah has been weakened by over a year of hostilities with Israel, which a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end, although the fighting has not been completely halted.

Lebanon and Israel have since entered US-sponsored direct talks in an effort to end hostilities. In June they signed a framework agreement that calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in "pilot zones".

But the Lebanese military faces major challenges amid a shortage of equipment, personnel, and technical capabilities necessary to carry out its mission.

Arab World

Visiting Iraq, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Hails ‘New Order’ in the Region

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) speaks during a press conference at the site where Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed by a US airstrike in 2020, near the airport, upon his arrival in Baghdad on August 19, 2026. (AFP)
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) speaks during a press conference at the site where Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed by a US airstrike in 2020, near the airport, upon his arrival in Baghdad on August 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Visiting Iraq, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Hails ‘New Order’ in the Region

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) speaks during a press conference at the site where Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed by a US airstrike in 2020, near the airport, upon his arrival in Baghdad on August 19, 2026. (AFP)
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) speaks during a press conference at the site where Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed by a US airstrike in 2020, near the airport, upon his arrival in Baghdad on August 19, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday stressed the importance of strengthening the "new order" in the region, on the first stop in a three-day visit to Iraq.

Ghalibaf's trip comes at a time when Iraq is facing American pressure to disarm factions close to Tehran, which wields significant political influence in Iraq.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who took office three months ago with US backing, has pledged to restrict weapons to the control of the state.

Speaking from the site near Baghdad airport where Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a 2020 US strike, Ghalibaf said: "Our trip to Iraq today is aimed at strengthening the new order in the region and accelerating the strengthening of cooperation between all countries in the region without foreign interference."

"Resistance in Iraq is... one of the elements of this country's power. Today, resistance has gone beyond the borders of Iran and Iraq... and has become global," he added.

Ghalibaf is scheduled to meet Zaidi later on Wednesday and then hold a meeting with the Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in parliament, made up of Shiite parties with varying degrees of proximity to Tehran.

Iraq has been pulled into the Middle East war, with pro-Iran factions have launching attacks on US interests, which Washington has responded to with deadly strikes. Iran has also shelled positions belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.

Iraq is facing mounting challenges in maintaining a balance between Iran and the United States, and since the US invasion in 2003 it has been an arena of rivalry between the two powers.

Zaidi has given the armed factions -- some of which belong to the Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” -- until September 30 to hand over their weapons to the state, coinciding with the scheduled end of the mission of the US-led coalition against the ISIS group.

Some of the most powerful factions, however, and those closest to Iran, refuse to cooperate.

On Thursday, Ghalibaf will head to the city of Karbala where he will take part in ceremonies marking 40 days since the funeral of former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28.

Arab World

Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strike on Police Station Kills 9

Palestinians inspect the damage at a police station that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a police station that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP)
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Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strike on Police Station Kills 9

Palestinians inspect the damage at a police station that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a police station that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP)

Gaza health officials said an Israeli strike on the municipal police headquarters in Gaza City killed nine people on Wednesday, with the Israeli military saying it targeted a Hamas commander in that strike and another further south.

Attacks in the Palestinian territory have continued in recent days, despite a renewed push by the United States to advance a long-term Gaza peace plan.

Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital reported the arrival of nine bodies, including a woman and a girl, and at least 20 wounded following the strike in Gaza City.

The territory's civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas, confirmed the toll.

The Israeli military said the strike on the police headquarters targeted a Hamas commander who it said had planned to carry out attacks against troops in the territory.

"Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance," it added.

It said it had also struck a commander in Hamas's military wing in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem condemned what he called Israel's "complete disregard for all calls for a ceasefire".

He said US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which is tasked with implementing the ceasefire plan agreed last October, "bears responsibility for this escalation due to its failure to fulfill its obligations by pressuring the occupation" to abide by its commitments.

Trump's envoy Jared Kushner had said on Monday that progress towards disarming Hamas and moving forward with the Gaza peace plan could begin within a month following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The sit-down came two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump's Gaza plan.

Netanyahu, however, has refused to support the roadmap, vowing not to withdraw troops until the Palestinian movement is "genuinely disarmed".

Gaza health officials said Tuesday that an Israeli airstrike killed six people in the port of Gaza City, with the Israeli army saying it had targeted several Hamas commanders.