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Rafah Crossing Closed Due to Security Operation in Sinai

Gazans wait for clearance at the Rafah crossing to enter Egypt [Getty]
Gazans wait for clearance at the Rafah crossing to enter Egypt [Getty]
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Rafah Crossing Closed Due to Security Operation in Sinai

Gazans wait for clearance at the Rafah crossing to enter Egypt [Getty]
Gazans wait for clearance at the Rafah crossing to enter Egypt [Getty]

Egypt on Friday closed its border with the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said, after Cairo launched a major operation against jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula.

The head of Hamas, the Islamist group which runs Gaza, was however permitted to travel to Cairo for talks before the border was closed a day earlier than planned.

Friday was supposed to be the final of a three-day border opening for humanitarian cases from Gaza, the first time the Rafah border crossing with Egypt had been open in 2018.

"The Rafah border was closed today due to the security situation in Sinai, we were informed by the Egyptian authorities," said Saleh al-Zaq, head of the civil affairs committee which controls the borders.

The Egyptian army announced Friday morning the launch of a major operation against jihadists across swathes of territory, including the Sinai Peninsula bordering Gaza.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya crossed the border to Cairo for talks with Egyptian leaders before Rafah was closed, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said.

He said the talks would include an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal between Hamas and rival Palestinian movement Fatah that has faltered, with multiple deadlines missed.

Hamas officials said the visit is to discuss the economic crisis "that put Gaza on the edge of the abyss". Talks will also cover the obstacles stalling a Palestinian unity deal with the Palestinian government in the West Bank.

Thousands of Gazans had gathered on Thursday at the crossing in the hope for a brief chance to leave the Strip.

The UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians warned on Tuesday that the healthcare system in Gaza is on the verge of "total collapse," due to Israel's decade-old blockade of the strip.

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Arab World

Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say

The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)
The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say

The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)
The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli strikes ‌killed at least three Palestinians and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the territory's health officials said.

Medics said two people were killed and six others wounded in two separate airstrikes in Khan Younis, south of the enclave, while a third person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Al-Mussadar.

The Israeli military didn't immediately ‌comment on ‌any of the attacks.

Israel, which says ‌the ⁠Hamas group ⁠has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks.

Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of ⁠undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Last year's ‌US-brokered ceasefire calls ‌for eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress ‌has been made as negotiators have failed ‌to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or Israel to withdraw its troops, who control about two-thirds of the territory where they have ordered ‌residents out.

Nearly all of the more than 2 million residents live in ⁠the remaining ⁠third of the enclave among war ruins, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, still under effective control of Hamas.

At least 1,580 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory's health officials, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Arab World

Syrian Intelligence Thwarts Terrorist Plot Targeting Homs Refinery

A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)
A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)
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Syrian Intelligence Thwarts Terrorist Plot Targeting Homs Refinery

A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)
A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)

A source in Syria’s intelligence revealed to SANA on Sunday that a terrorist plot targeting the Homs refinery in central Syria has been thwarted.

The Homs refinery, along with the Baniyas refinery, plays a crucial role in securing petroleum derivatives for the domestic market. Last October, atmospheric distillation unit "10" was rehabilitated and maintained, with a design capacity of one million tons of crude oil annually. This boosts the refinery's capacity to produce petroleum derivatives and supports the availability of diesel, fuel oil, and kerosene in the local market.

Authorities did not reveal who was behind the plot.

The current refinery comprises four production units based on atmospheric distillation, alongside a naphtha upgrading project to produce high-octane gasoline that meets domestic market needs.

Some units are currently operational, while maintenance and commissioning work are being finalized on two other units in preparation for launch. This will bring the refinery's operational capacity to approximately 60,000 to 70,000 barrels per day of petroleum derivatives.

Established in 1959, the Homs Refinery General Company is one of the oldest oil facilities in Syria, though its efficiency has declined over time. Yousef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, said last year that the company is currently working on constructing a new refinery 51 kilometers away from the city of Homs.

Arab World

Syria Arrests Two ISIS Militants Involved in Assassinations

A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Syria Arrests Two ISIS Militants Involved in Assassinations

A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Syrian authorities said on Sunday they arrested two ISIS members in the east of the country, blaming them for targeted killings including that of a defense ministry official.

In a statement, the internal security forces announced the arrest of "two individuals following close intelligence surveillance" in Deir Ezzor.

They are accused of "carrying out a series of assassinations in the governorate, the latest of which was targeting Ministry of Defense member Ibrahim al-Jassem" in the city of Mayadin.

Syrian authorities blamed the group for a bombing in Damascus while French President Emmanuel Macron was visiting the country in July, and said they had dismantled the cell responsible.

According to a report presented to the United Nations Security Council that same month, the group counts some 3,000 combatants in Syria.