By Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. will provide on-site passport services this week in a settlement in the West Bank, marking the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers in the occupied territory, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

Most of the world considers Israel's West Bank settlements illegal under international law relating to military occupations. Israel disputes that the settlements are illegal, and many on the Israeli right advocate annexing the West Bank.

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. military forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from Caribbean waters, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, adding that it was the third such interdiction in that region.

After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid last month in Caracas, Washington has escalated its blockade on vessels that are under sanctions and going to and from the South American country, a member of the OPEC oil producers' group.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Dozens of aid groups said they have petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to allow them to keep operating in Gaza, warning of dire consequences if new rules obliging them to name staff force shutdowns.

DUBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Iran is ready to take any necessary steps to reach a deal with the United States, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said on Tuesday, as the two countries prepare for a fresh round of talks.

The talks are set to take place on Thursday in Geneva, a senior U.S. official said on Monday, with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner slated to meet with an Iranian delegation for the negotiations.

By Lili Bayer

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - An EU internal memo has raised security concerns about the escape of thousands of people from a detention camp holding relatives of suspected Islamic State fighters in northeastern Syria, suggesting militant groups could recruit from them.

The memo, sent from the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union to member states and dated February 23, said the status of third-country nationals who had fled the camp at al-Hol remained unclear and that it was reported that a majority of them had escaped.

By Sayed Hassib

KABUL/ KARACHI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along their border on Tuesday, with each side accusing the other of initiating the clash, days after Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan strained already tenuous ties.

The incident marks the latest flare-up along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border, where tensions have risen since Pakistan's strikes on Saturday and Sunday and threaten a fragile ceasefire following deadly clashes in October.

Inside the dusty shell of one of the oldest libraries in the Palestinian territories, a group of Gazan volunteers work diligently to salvage what remains of their ancient cultural heritage.

The Great Omari Mosque library sustained terrible damaged during the war in Gaza, which erupted in October 2023 and devastated swathes of the Palestinian territory, including cultural and religious sites.

The mosque -- in the old town of Gaza City -- now stands largely ruined, with its library littered with rubble and dust.

Lebanon's foreign minister said Tuesday his country fears its infrastructure could be hit by Israeli strikes if the situation with Iran escalates, after Israel intensified its attacks on Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

With tensions high, Lebanon's army accused the Israeli military of firing near a position it was setting up in the country's south, saying it had instructed troops to return fire.

By Saud Meushud and Mushtaq Ali

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Gunmen ambushed a police vehicle and killed five officials and two civilians in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, police said, as the South Asian nation struggles to quell a wave of militant attacks and faces renewed border tensions with Afghanistan.

The ambush in Kohat city, situated along the border with Afghanistan, comes a day after a drone and gun attack killed three paramilitary troops in the nearby city of Karak.

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's first option with Tehran is always diplomacy but he is willing to use lethal force if necessary, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday as his top diplomat prepares to brief top congressional leaders on Iran later in the day.

"President Trump's first option is always diplomacy. But as he has shown ... he is willing to use the lethal force of the United States military if necessary," Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House. "The president is always the final decision maker around here."