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Hamas Says It Is Committed to Gaza Deal After Kushner’s Israel Visit

Palestinians walk amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, in Gaza City, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, in Gaza City, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP)
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Hamas Says It Is Committed to Gaza Deal After Kushner’s Israel Visit

Palestinians walk amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, in Gaza City, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, in Gaza City, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP)

Hamas said on Tuesday it remained committed to the US-backed Gaza peace deal after White House envoy Jared Kushner spoke to Israel about steps towards the group's disarmament.

"Hamas is committed to this agreed-upon process. It is clear that, so far, the Israeli side has not given the mediators clear approval of the roadmap," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.

"There are timelines and procedural steps that need to be worked out in detail, but there must first be Israeli approval of the roadmap," he said.

Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, held a rare meeting with Hamas on Sunday in Egypt before meeting the following day in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has publicly rejected the latest phase of the deal.

Kushner, in a Fox News interview after the talks, said that Hamas's disarmament could begin in about 30 days and that reconstruction of Gaza would not begin until that happens.

Kushner also said that the United States is "not going to restrict Israel's right to defend itself if there are any imminent threats" in Gaza.

Netanyahu has demanded that Hamas fully disarm. In his talks with Kushner, the two sides agreed that a US general would oversee the surrender of weapons, according to an Israeli official.

Trump's Board of Peace implementing the deal has also told Netanyahu that Israel does not need to start withdrawing from Gaza until full disarmament, walking back an earlier call for Israel to start a phased pullout.

Israel has kept up airstrikes in Gaza despite the peace push.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that a strike two days earlier had killed a commander of the Islamic Jihad group who was responsible for abducting an Israeli during the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

Israeli operations have killed at least 1,265 Palestinians since a ceasefire came into effect on October 10, according to figures from Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks from Gaza operations over the same period.

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Arab World

UN Says Only 3% of Gaza Cropland Accessible and Undamaged

Salvage workers shovel the scrapped rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Salvage workers shovel the scrapped rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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UN Says Only 3% of Gaza Cropland Accessible and Undamaged

Salvage workers shovel the scrapped rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Salvage workers shovel the scrapped rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, to use the recycled remains in the future, in Gaza City on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Just three percent of the cropland in Gaza remains accessible and undamaged, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned Tuesday, citing an analysis of satellite images.

The report found that since October 2025, when a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold, the area of accessible and undamaged cropland had fallen to 448 hectares from 601 hectares, a reduction of 25.5 percent, said AFP.

Another 3,643 hectares of cropland are accessible but too damaged to be farmed without rehabilitation, the FAO said.

"Without urgent action to restore safe access and provide farmers with the support they need, opportunities to restore local food production will continue to diminish," said Rein Paulsen, director of the agency's Office of Emergencies and Resilience.

Restrictions on the import of agricultural goods are also hampering recovery, with livestock farmers struggling to obtain animal feed and veterinary supplies.

Greenhouse availability has also declined, dropping 17.3 percent since October 2025 to 224 hectares that are accessible and undamaged.

The FAO said the reduced access could be explained mainly by the westward expansion of the so-called "Yellow Line" that separates the ceasefire zone from the area controlled by the Israeli military.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages to Gaza.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the territory's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

A ceasefire took hold in October 2025 but progress on permanently ending the war has stalled, and Israeli forces currently control nearly 70 percent of the territory.

Before October 2023 agriculture accounted for about 10 percent of Gaza's economy and supported the livelihoods of more than 560,000 people, according to the FAO.

Arab World

Syria Says 3 Dead in Hydrogen Tank Blast at Coastal Power Plant

The Banias power plant. (Tartus Governorate on Facebook)
The Banias power plant. (Tartus Governorate on Facebook)
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Syria Says 3 Dead in Hydrogen Tank Blast at Coastal Power Plant

The Banias power plant. (Tartus Governorate on Facebook)
The Banias power plant. (Tartus Governorate on Facebook)

A hydrogen tank explosion at a power plant in western Syria killed three people on Tuesday, an electricity company official said.

Alaa Sawda, head of the Syrian Electricity Company's media department told the official SANA news agency that "the explosion at the Banias thermal power plant was caused by maintenance work on the hydrogen tank, and occurred during the replacement of the tank's float valve, resulting in the death of three workers".

"The station continues its operations and was not affected by the explosion," he added.

SANA had initially reported "an explosion in the thermal power plant in Banias" with the cause under investigation.

It cited a regional health official as saying the blast resulted in three deaths.

Banias's thermal plant, located in the western Tartus province, is one of the most important electrical facilities in Syria.

Syria's dilapidated electricity sector suffered heavy blows during the country's civil war with heavy damage to its infrastructure, leading to power cuts that can last up to 20 hours a day.

Since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, the new Syrian authorities have repeatedly vowed to increase electricity production.

Arab World

Syria Issues Death Sentence to Detained Assad Cousin

Wassim al-Assad during his trial at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Aug. 18, 2026. (SANA)
Wassim al-Assad during his trial at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Aug. 18, 2026. (SANA)
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Syria Issues Death Sentence to Detained Assad Cousin

Wassim al-Assad during his trial at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Aug. 18, 2026. (SANA)
Wassim al-Assad during his trial at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Aug. 18, 2026. (SANA)

A Syrian court on Tuesday issued a death sentence to detainee Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad who was himself sentenced to death in absentia a week ago.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Wassim al-Assad was convicted of multiple murders and "murder accompanied by torture and brutality... classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes", adding that "he is therefore sentenced to death".

The judge said investigations established that Assad was involved in forming irregular armed groups at the direction of Brig. Gen. Ghiath Dalla. The groups targeted civilian areas in Eastern Ghouta and committed massacres, particularly in Al-Malihah, reported the state news agency SANA.

Al-Aryan said the court established beyond doubt that an armed group affiliated with Assad attacked a shop in Jaramana, stole its contents and abducted its owner because of his opposition to the former regime. The group was also involved in abducting and killing Syrian citizens in several areas.

The court convicted Assad of intentionally killing more than one person and acts of torture constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes. It also ordered the confiscation of his movable and immovable assets in favor of the public treasury.

The verdict was delivered at the court’s sixth hearing after the completion of all stages of the trial and related judicial proceedings. Members of the National Authority for Transitional Justice and representatives of international legal and humanitarian organizations attended.

The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus had also sentenced ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and several former officials to death on August 11 after convicting them of crimes including premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.