US President Donald Trump has signed an order vowing to defend key ally Qatar against attacks, the White House said Wednesday, in an extraordinary move following Israeli strikes on the Gulf state last month.
The Israeli strike angered Washington and spurred Trump to push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into accepting a Gaza peace deal this week -- and apologizing personally to Qatar.
ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey will not allow Syria's fragmentation or harm to its territorial integrity if diplomacy to implement an integration deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria's government fails.
"We have engaged all channels of diplomacy both to preserve Syria's territorial integrity and prevent a terrorist structure from forming across our borders. We continue to use these channels with patience, sincerity, and common sense," Erdogan told an event to mark parliament's re-opening.
By Ali Sawafta and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
RAMALLAH (Reuters) -Driven out of Gaza two decades ago by Hamas, strapped for cash and headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority's hopes of running a future Palestinian state have long seemed bleak.
Its prospects, however, appeared to brighten briefly on Monday when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan to end the Gaza war that hinted at a future role for the PA and its 89-year-old leader President Mahmoud Abbas, who hasn't faced an election since 2005.
A flotilla bound for Gaza with aid for the war-battered Palestinian territory said on Wednesday that it would continue its course despite what it called "intimidation tactics" by the Israeli military.
The flotilla of some 45 vessels carrying activists and politicians, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela, departed Spain last month with the aim of breaking the blockade on Gaza, where the UN has said there is a famine.
ROME (Reuters) -Italy and Greece on Wednesday called on Israel not to hurt activists aboard an international flotilla, which is bracing for Israeli action to prevent it from delivering aid to Gaza.
"(We) are calling on the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety and security of the participants and to allow for all consular protection measures," the two countries said in a joint statement issued by their respective foreign ministers.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -It is highly unlikely that UN peacekeeping forces will be deployed in Ukraine or Gaza given the compositionoftheUnited Nations Security Council, a senior Indian defence ministry official said on Wednesday.
The official, Vishwesh Negi, was speaking at a press conference of the conclave of army chiefs of United Nations troop contributing countries in New Delhi.
He was replying to questions about the possibility of deployment of UN peacekeepers in Ukraine and Gaza.
Israel issued a final warning Wednesday for people to flee Gaza's main city, as Hamas weighed US President Donald Trump's plan to end nearly two years of war in the Palestinian territory.
Witnesses reported heavy bombardment in Gaza City, as Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, said the army was tightening its encirclement of the city.
By Alexander Cornwell and May Angel
TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for Donald Trump’s Gaza plan is a gamble that may win back estranged allies abroad and repair his political base at home but risks a battle with coalition partners opposed to any hint of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu, aligning himself with Trump, framed the plan as a joint effort that advances his government's goals while shifting international criticism about the war onto Hamas, which must now choose between accepting it or facing continued siege.
DUBAI (Reuters) -The range of Iran's missiles will be increased to any point deemed necessary, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander told the semi-official Fars news agency on Wednesday, in response to what he said were Western demands to curb Tehran's missiles.
Demands by the U.S. and some European countries to impose restrictions on Iran's missile capabilities have been one of the issues blocking the path to a nuclear deal, according to Iranian officials.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas's review of U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan stretched into a third day on Wednesday, a source close to the militant group said, as other Palestinian factions rejected the proposal and as Israel again bombed Gaza City.
Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas "three or four days" to respond to the plan he outlined this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has backed the proposal to end Israel's almost two-year-old war with the Palestinian militant group.
