A young Gazan girl twirls across the floor of a dressmaker's shop, her white dress billowing around her as a shy smile spreads across her face.

Trimmed with delicate tulle and topped with a soft veil, the dress looks fit for a celebration.

Few would guess that parts of it are from discarded fabric or an old gown salvaged from the ruins of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The dress is the work of 24-year-old tailor Amir al-Rantisi, who has made it his mission to provide elegant dresses for special occasions for young girls and women in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis area.

By Dawoud Abu Alkas , Haseeb Al-Wazeer and Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA/CAIRO, June 16 (Reuters) - Fadi Al-Arawi, a footballer in the Gaza Strip Premier League, hasn't been able to take the pitch since pro sports were suspended with the outbreak of war more than two years ago. Like most Gazans, he no longer even has a home where he can watch the World Cup on TV.

As Saturday's match between Qatar and Switzerland was about to get under way, he wore his old Gaza Sports Club professional uniform and medals he had picked up at international competitions.

DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - Iran executed two individuals described as "armed leaders of early 2026 unrest" in the county of Shahrud, the judiciary's news outlet Mizan said on Tuesday, identifying the defendants as Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi.

The two men were convicted of Moharebeh (waging war against God), corruption on earth, damaging public and private property, and crimes against national security.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams)

By Feras Dalatey , Jonathan Saul, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Edward Carron

DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - The United States military has overseen scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing, using aerial and water drones as well as helicopters in an operation to guide convoys to awaiting tankers.

DUBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf will be present for the signing of an interim agreement to end the war with the U.S., an Iranian deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday, according to Tasnim news agency.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi said it remained unclear where exactly the signing would take place and in what format it would be conducted.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Vice President JD Vance would attend the formal signing ceremony in Geneva.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams)

By Steve Holland, Parisa Hafezi and Maayan Lubell

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France/DUBAI/JERUSALEM, June 16 (Reuters) - Doubts swirled around the U.S.-Iran interim deal to end the war in the Middle East as shippers said it could take weeks for confidence to return after any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and fundamental questions remained unanswered.

Solemn silence during the national anthem and howls of joy after the goals: in Tehran, Iranians followed their team's first steps on American soil in the World Cup with curiosity through the night.

Most in the Iranian capital were asleep when the match against New Zealand kicked off at 4:30 am.

But in one of the few cafes open to broadcast the match, there was already a buzz of excitement.

Around 40 football fans were discussing their team's chances in a World Cup being played under the shadow of the war between Iran and co-hosts the United States.

June 16 (Reuters) - Shipowners will not resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks until they are confident that the U.S.-Iran deal is "material", the chief executive of Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines told the Financial Times in an interview published on Tuesday.

The Iran war that began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes largely stopped shipping through the transit route for around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply, along with products such as aluminium and urea.

When Egypt took the lead against Belgium in their opening World Cup match on Monday, decades of doubt gave way to belief for 62-year-old Bahgat Abbas.

Standing beneath the historic arcades near the Basilica in Cairo's eastern Heliopolis district, Abbas leapt with the crowd as cups rattled across tables and the roar from television screens spilled into the street.

"I remember watching Egypt in 1990," Abbas told AFP, waving an Egyptian flag as car horns blared around him.

By Hatem Maher

INGLEWOOD, California June 15 (Reuters) - Whistles drowned out parts of Iran's national anthem while other fans sang along, setting the tone for a World Cup opener that often felt more significant for political allegiances than the football on show.

Before a crowd of more than 70,000 in Los Angeles, home to the world's largest Iranian diaspora, supporters waved flags, chanted and revealed starkly different loyalties as Iran fought back twice to secure a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday.