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Hamas' exiled Gaza chief says ceasefire talks meaningless under 'blockade and starvation'

(Reuters) -The exiled head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Sunday ceasefire negotiations with Israel were "meaningless under continued blockade and starvation".

"The immediate and dignified delivery of food and medicine to our people is the only serious and genuine indication of whether continuing the negotiations is worthwhile," he said in a recorded speech.

(Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nidal Al-Mughrabi)

FILE PHOTO: Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya sits at a mourning house for assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar, August 2, 2024. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo

WFP urges quick approvals by Israel for trucks to move into Gaza

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations food aid agency needs quick approvals by Israel for its trucks to move into Gaza if it is to take advantage of Israel's planned humanitarian pauses in fighting, a senior World Food Programme official said on Sunday.

Facing growing global condemnation as the World Health Organization said mass starvation had taken hold in Gaza, Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of the enclave and allow new aid corridors.

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

UK's Starmer to convene cabinet meeting, most likely to discuss Gaza

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will convene a cabinet meeting next week, a government source said on Sunday, most likely to discuss the situation in Gaza after coming under growing pressure to recognise a Palestinian state.

The Financial Times, which initially reported the story, said ministers, currently in a summer recess until September 1, would reconvene to discuss Gaza.

Starmer's office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India (not pictured) as they meet for bilateral talks at Chequers near Aylesbury, England, Thursday, July 24, 2025.    Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

WHO says malnutrition reaching 'alarming levels' in Gaza

Malnutrition rates are reaching "alarming levels" in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization warned Sunday, saying the "deliberate blocking" of aid was entirely preventable and had cost many lives.

"Malnutrition is on a dangerous trajectory in the Gaza Strip, marked by a spike in deaths in July," the WHO said in a statement.

Of the 74 recorded malnutrition-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July -- including 24 children under five, one child aged over five, and 38 adults, it added.

'Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives,' said the WHO

Trump says Israel will have to 'make a decision' on next steps in Gaza

TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas militant group.

Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly "hardened" up on the issue.

FILE PHOTO: The son of displaced Palestinian woman Iman Suleiman, from Beit Lahiya, carries a box of aid the family received, distributed by the Emirates Red Crescent, in Gaza City, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi/File Photo

Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says

(Reuters) -Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new administration in September, the head of the electoral process told state news agency SANA on Sunday.

Voting for the People's Assembly is expected to take place from September 15-20, added the official, Mohamed Taha.

(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

FILE PHOTO: A man casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections, in Damascus, Syria July 15, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo

Turkey evacuates thousands as firefighters battle wildfires

ANKARA (Reuters) -Firefighters battled wildfires across Turkey on Sunday amid a searing Mediterranean heat-wave, with authorities evacuating more than 3,600 people from settlements in two provinces.

Wildfires in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya as well as the central province of Usak were largely brought under control, but blazes in the northwestern province of Bursa and the northern province of Karabuk were still burning, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters.

A firefighter works following a wildfire in the Aksu district of Antalya, a Mediterranean city in southern Turkey, July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kaan Soyturk/File Photo

Exiled MEK group condemns execution of two members in Iran

The execution in Iran of two men convicted of carrying out armed operations for an exiled opposition group is a "brutal crime", the group's leader said on Sunday, urging countries to act against "bloodthirsty" authorities in Tehran.

"This brutality only intensifies the outrage of the Iranian people and reinforces the determination of Iran's courageous youth to bring an end to this theocratic tyranny," Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), said on X.

Maryam Rajavi is president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the political wing of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, which Tehran regards as a "terrorist" group

Iran executes two members of opposition group for attacking infrastructure

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran executed two members of the banned Mujahideen-e-Khalq group for attacking civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles, the judiciary news outlet Mizan said on Sunday, amid criticism from Amnesty International over a "grossly unfair" trial.

Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, identified as "operational elements" of the MEK, were sentenced to death in September 2024 - a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, which denied their request for a retrial, Mizan said.

People wave flags during at an event in Ashraf-3 camp, which is a base for the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) in Manza, Albania, July 13, 2019.REUTERS/Florion Goga