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Mattis to Discuss Regional Challenges with Jordan’s King, Turkish President

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Reuters photo
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Reuters photo
    Washington, Heba El Koudsy
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Mattis to Discuss Regional Challenges with Jordan’s King, Turkish President

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Reuters photo
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Reuters photo

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will begin on Saturday a five-day trip to the Middle East and Europe to reaffirm the enduring US commitment to strategic partnerships, the Pentagon said.

Mattis will begin his engagements on Monday in Jordan by meeting with King Abdullah II and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat.

Discussions will focus on “Jordanian efforts to combat ISIS," it said, adding that Mattis will “reaffirm US commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Jordan in facing regional and global challenges.”

“This is the secretary's first trip to Jordan during his tenure,” the Pentagon said.

Mattis is scheduled to travel to Turkey on Wednesday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli and Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The defense secretary will emphasize the steadfast US commitment to Turkey as a NATO ally and strategic partner, "seek to collaborate on efforts to advance regional stability, and look for ways to help Turkey address its legitimate security concerns -- including the fight against the [Kurdistan Workers' Party]," the statement said.

Mattis concludes his trip on Thursday with his first visit to Ukraine as defense secretary.

There, he will meet with President Petro Poroshenko and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.

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Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)

Israel launched a large-scale military operation on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists reported, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians "eliminated".

Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.

Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tires and throw stones at armored vehicles.

The Israeli army said that one soldier was "moderately injured" and three others "lightly injured" when two Palestinians attempted to steal a soldier's weapon.

Troops opened fire and "eliminated" both Palestinians, the army said in a statement, using a term the military often uses when killing gunmen.

AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians.

Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from "physical assaults", and dozens more from tear gas inhalation.

It added that many injuries had to be handled within the old city after its ambulances were blocked from entering.

Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

The territory's north has been the target of a major Israeli military operation dubbed "Iron Wall" since January 21.

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers entered shops to search them and arrested several people for questioning, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

The correspondent added that Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings in the Old City that had been turned into temporary bases for Israeli troops.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel.

At least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Authority.

During the same period, least 35 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.