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Iraq Plans to Build Large Naval Military Base

Workers load concrete at the Faw port project site in Faw, southern province of Basra, August 28, 2017. (Reuters)
Workers load concrete at the Faw port project site in Faw, southern province of Basra, August 28, 2017. (Reuters)
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Iraq Plans to Build Large Naval Military Base

Workers load concrete at the Faw port project site in Faw, southern province of Basra, August 28, 2017. (Reuters)
Workers load concrete at the Faw port project site in Faw, southern province of Basra, August 28, 2017. (Reuters)

Iraq plans to build the largest naval base in the Arabian Gulf near the under-construction Al Faw Grand Port, which has been a huge obstacle for successive governments since 2003.

During a visit to the province of Basra last week, Defense Minister Najah al-Shammari announced plans for the establishment of the largest military naval base.

The ministry said in a statement that al-Shammari visited Basra accompanied by the Minister of Transport, Abdulla Luaibi and a number of military commanders.

“Iraq has decided to establish the biggest naval base in the Faw port, which will take several years to be built,” the Defense Minister announced.

The base would be responsible for securing Iraq's territorial waters and protecting its southern maritime port and will help develop the security and economy of Basra city.

“We will do whatever we can to finalize this project for the sake of Iraq’s economy,” al-Shammari said.

For his part, Luaibi said: “We are proud to announce the biggest naval base in Basra that would help Iraq develop its security and economy, as well as control its water resources.”

Defense Ministry spokesman, Tahsin al-Khafaji told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iraq needs such a military base to protect its ports and regional waters, revealing that the project will be complete in two years.

“After resuming construction at the Faw port, we found that an advanced naval base should be built near it to help protect the port,” he explained.

Khafaji said Iraq only boasts one naval base, located in Um Qasr, and it cannot address Iraq’s naval security needs, whether in its waters or regionally.

Asked whether some neighboring states would object to the construction of the new facility the spokesperson replied: “The project would affect no one, whether Kuwait or Iran, because it will be located inside Iraqi regional waters.”

Iraq does not boast a strong navy. Its vessels are currently limited to countering human trafficking and oil and weapons smuggling operations and protecting offshore oil rigs. Military reports have said that Iraq needs to boosts its navy to meet security demands.

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Arab World

Palestinian Authority Says 2,670 Displaced in Israel’s Hebron Operation

Israeli forces take Palestinian cars during a military operation in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25,2026. (Reuters)
Israeli forces take Palestinian cars during a military operation in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25,2026. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Authority Says 2,670 Displaced in Israel’s Hebron Operation

Israeli forces take Palestinian cars during a military operation in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25,2026. (Reuters)
Israeli forces take Palestinian cars during a military operation in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25,2026. (Reuters)

The Palestinian Authority said Sunday that nearly 2,700 people had been displaced by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron launched after two soldiers were killed in an attack nearby.

Following Friday's attack, Israeli forces entered the Hebron neighborhood of Ein Deir Baha, where the assailants lived, and ordered residents to pack up and leave after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a major operation in the occupied territory.

"More than 2,670 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Hebron by Israeli occupation forces, the majority of them women, children, and elderly people, according to data from Hebron Municipality," the Palestinian prime minister's office said on X.

A convoy of Israeli military and police vehicles accompanied by soldiers was seen in Hebron on Sunday, making its way down a street blocked to civilian traffic by parked cars and motorbikes, AFP images showed.

Local shopkeeper Higazi al-Tamimi, who also plays a leadership role in the evacuated neighborhood, accused Israeli soldiers of beating him as he attempted to go to his home.

"I remember one or two people starting to strike my legs, chest and shoulders. One of them even hit me on the head," he said from a hospital bed, with his leg thickly bandaged.

"They then pushed me backwards, and I kept moving until I reached a safe area."

Arab World

Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Deadly Church Attack

A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)
A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)
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Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Deadly Church Attack

A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)
A Jordanian security officer guards a church (Reuters)

Jordanian security forces have arrested three suspects in connection with an attack on a church that killed nine people, state television reported on Monday.

The attack, in which gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church on Friday in the village of Hamoud in Karak governorate, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital Amman, also wounded 40 others. The shooting lasted several minutes, witnesses ‌said.

Jordan's Public Security ‌Directorate said security forces located the three ‌suspects ⁠early on Monday ⁠hiding in an abandoned house in Karak. The suspects refused to surrender and opened fire on security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after they were wounded, the directorate said in a statement carried on state media.

No security personnel were injured, and a number of firearms ⁠and ammunition were found in the suspects' ‌possession after their arrest, reported Reuters.

"Terrorism has ‌no place among us," the directorate said, adding that the suspects ‌had met their "just fate".

The Public Security Directorate did not ‌identify the suspects' affiliation or say whether they belonged to any militant group.

Jordanian authorities have said the attack was carried out by "extremist terrorists", but it was too early to determine whether they had ‌links to known groups inside or outside Jordan. There has been no claim of ⁠responsibility.

Interior Minister ⁠Mazen al-Faraya said on Monday authorities were reviewing the circumstances that led young people towards extremism and would hold accountable anyone found to have participated in the attack.

King Abdullah has ordered security forces to respond with an "iron fist" to the rare attack on Jordan's Christian minority.

Such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable state in the Middle East, though authorities say they have foiled several extremist militant plots over the years.

Arab World

Strike on Gaza University Kills Three

Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)
Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)
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Strike on Gaza University Kills Three

Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)
Mourners grieve during the funeral of three Palestinians at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 25, 2026, after they were killed in an Israeli strike on the Islamic University building. (AFP)

An Israeli strike on a university in Gaza City killed three people on Sunday, staff and a local hospital said, while the civil defense agency reported five others killed elsewhere in the territory.

Reached for comment on the strike at the Islamic University, the Israeli army said that it was currently under review.

Al Shifa hospital reported receiving three bodies and treating eight people who were wounded in the drone strike, with two sources at the university saying the dead were employees and the injured were students.

The university said the campus and its surroundings had been targeted twice on Sunday, condemning the attacks and mourning those killed in a statement.

Gaza's education ministry likewise condemned the strike, saying: "The global silence regarding attacks on students and universities serves as encouragement for the continuation of these crimes".

"This strike occurs at a time when the higher education sector is facing total annihilation, with 95 percent of the buildings belonging to academic institutions having been damaged as a result of the war," it continued.

"This heinous assault is part of a continuous series of attacks on education; over the past six days, 10 students and educators have been killed by the occupation's fire."

In a statement, the army said it had been "targeting a terrorist from Hamas' military wing".

"Following the identification of uninvolved individuals in the area, the munition was diverted in order to mitigate harm to them. The incident is under review," it said, without specifying whether those killed at the university were hit by accident.

A truce has been in effect in Gaza for over a year, but has failed to completely halt the violence there.

Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said five other people were killed on Sunday, three in strikes around the southern city of Khan Younis, one in central Deir al-Balah and one northwest of Gaza City.

One more person was wounded by Israeli gunfire in Jabalia refugee camp in the north.