By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO, March 27 (Reuters) - Hamas would be required to allow the destruction of its vast Gaza tunnel network as it lays down its arms in stages under a disarmament plan that was presented to the militants by U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", and viewed by Reuters.

The plan follows an eight-month timeline that begins with a U.S.-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats taking security control of Gaza and concludes with Israeli forces withdrawing completely upon "verification that Gaza is free of weaponry".

TUNIS, March 27 (Reuters) - The families of dozens of jailed opposition figures in Tunisia are among the few remaining voices demanding democratic freedoms, as they seek the release of loved ones held in what rights groups have called a crackdown on dissent by President Kais Saied.

The leaders of the main opposition parties in Tunisia have been jailed within the last three years, along with dozens of politicians, journalists, businessmen and others on charges of conspiring against state security, money laundering, and corruption - charges they say are fabricated.

KYIV, March 27 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on defence cooperation that lays the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation and investments, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

Zelenskiy, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, said the agreement was signed ahead of a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia and to work together to strengthen the protection of lives," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.

GENEVA, March 27 (Reuters) - More than 1,700 people were killed, nearly 200,000 displaced and multiple actors including Syrian government forces, tribal fighters and Druze armed groups committed acts that may amount to war crimes during a week of violence in southern Syria in July 2025, a U.N. investigation said on Friday.

Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have signed an air defence agreement during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the kingdom facing Iranian drone attacks, two senior officials told AFP on Friday.

Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.

By Krishna N. Das, Nidhi Verma and Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI, March 27 (Reuters) - As India's diplomats negotiated an accord that would ease punitive U.S. tariffs on the South Asian country's exports in January, New Delhi slashed its purchases of Russian crude oil in a move that was widely seen as a painful concession to President Donald Trump.

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Kuwait's main port hit -

Kuwait's main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack at dawn.

The Shuwaikh port was targeted "by enemy drones, preliminary reports revealed material damage but no human casualties", the Kuwait port authority said in a statement on X.

- Iran warning to US soldiers -

Iran's military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region would be targets.

March 27 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has told the U.S. and other Western allies it would participate in a multinational maritime taskforce to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The UAE is trying to push dozens of countries to create a “Hormuz Security Force” to defend the strait from Iranian attacks and escort shipping, the report added.

The UAE has faced more Iranian attacks than any other country in the region, including Israel.

MANILA, March 27 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday that the ASEAN Leaders' summit will go ahead in May, but will be shortened to a "bare-bones" programme that focuses on addressing issues like fuel supplies, food prices and migrant workers.

Marcos said he has consulted with his counterparts in the regional bloc and asked them whether they preferred to postpone the ASEAN summit due to the conflict in the Middle East.

"The consensus that we came to is that it is precisely now that we must coordinate our efforts," Marcos told reporters.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday, the State Department said, adding he expressed "gratitude" to KRG for enabling oil from Iraq, including from Iraq's Kurdistan, to reach global markets.

"The secretary also expressed his gratitude to the Kurdistan Regional Government for enabling oil from Iraq, including from the Iraq Kurdistan Region, to reach global markets," the State Department said in a statement.