By Mireia Merino

April 15 (Reuters) - Luxury hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai will shut during a major 18-month renovation, a staff member confirmed on Wednesday, its first since opening in 1999 and at a time when tourism in the region has slowed due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

The hotel's owner Jumeirah said in a statement on Tuesday the work would be carried out in phases over some 18 months and would be led by Paris-based interior architect Tristan Auer. It did not specify that the property would be closed during the renovation.

A flotilla of some 40 boats set sail for Gaza from Barcelona on Wednesday in a fresh bid to break an Israeli blockade and deliver aid to the devastated territory, organisers said.

The Global Sumud Flotilla had initially been set to depart from the Mediterranean port on Sunday but the mission was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

The ships, mostly sailboats, set sail just after 11:30 am (0930 GMT), organisers said in a statement.

An international media association on Wednesday accused the Israeli military of discrediting a Lebanese journalist it killed last month by circulating an AI‑generated image of him in Hezbollah fatigues.

Three Lebanese journalists, including Ali Shoeib -- a prominent correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar channel -- were killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on March 28.

The Israeli military claimed responsibility for Shoeib's killing, saying he "operated within the Hezbollah terrorist organisation under the guise of a journalist".

BEIRUT, April 15 (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Wednesday the Lebanese government's decision to hold talks with Israel was "a national sin" that would widen divisions in Lebanon, underlining deep polarisation in the country as the Iran-backed group wages war with Israel.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Tuesday's U.S.-mediated meeting between Lebanon's Washington ambassador and her Israeli counterpart did not reflect Lebanon's national identity or "the choices of its people".

ANKARA, April 15 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Ankara was working to extend a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, ease tensions, and ensure the continuation of talks, and added Turkey was hopeful of negotiations despite stumbling blocks.

Turkey, a neighbour of Iran, has been in close touch with the U.S., Iran, and mediator Pakistan. It has repeatedly called for an end to the war that it says is unjustified.

Suppliers and buyers at a trade show in southern China were cautious on Wednesday as they weighed costs for ice cream machines, home appliances and cars that have risen since the start of the Middle East war.

Chinese exporters and Middle Eastern buyers at the opening day of the Canton Fair -- one of the largest trade shows in the world -- gloomily told AFP that the Iran war has pummelled orders and led to price hikes.

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter not to give Iran weapons, and Xi responded that China was not supplying Tehran, the U.S. president told Fox Business Network in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

Trump, in the interview taped on Tuesday, did not say when the letters were exchanged. Last week, he threatened countries with an immediate 50% tariff if they supplied Iran with weapons.

BELGRADE, April 15 (Reuters) - The Serbian army should create units with attack drones, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday, as the Balkan country seeks to modernise its armed forces from its obsolete Soviet-era technology.

Belgrade has already bought modern weapons and equipment from Europe, Israel and China and it wants to adapt its military strategy to conform with modern warfare.

Serbia is military neutral and is balancing a partnership with NATO and aspirations to join the European Union with its ties with Russia and China.

April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's security aide Sebastian Gorka is seeking to become the next head of the National Counterterrorism Center, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, nearly a month after the center's previous head quit due to differences over the war in Iran.

Joe Kent, who previously headed the center, had said while resigning last month that Iran posed no imminent threat to the United States.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday Washington and Tehran were "very close" to a peace deal and insisted that Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, a key sticking point in negotiations.

The United States had earlier threatened to resume airstrikes on the Islamic republic and maintain a naval blockade of its ports if Tehran refused to accept a deal to solve the conflict that broke out on February 28.