ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey has joined Spain, Italy and Greece in monitoring an international flotilla carrying aid for Gaza thatwas sailing east across the Mediterranean Sea on Monday despite warnings from Israel to stop the mission, flight data show.

Flight tracking websites showed that three long-endurance drones originating from Turkey's Corlu airbase have been circling over the flotilla for three days, highlighting the growing international interest in the boats which have vowed to breach an Israeli naval blockade around the embattledGaza Strip.

By Samia Nakhoul

ABU DHABI (Reuters) -The UAE is pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace proposal at their meeting later on Monday and to abandon any plan to annex the West Bank, a delegate with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are "very close" to reaching agreement on a framework deal to end the war in Gaza and ensure lasting peace in the Middle East, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.

Leavitt, speaking on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program, said President Donald Trump would discuss a 21-point peace plan with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House later on Monday. Trump will speak to leaders in Qatar, who have served as intermediaries with Hamas, on Monday, she said.

KABUL (Reuters) -Eight-year-old Noorullah and his twin, Sanaullah, spend their days hauling yellow jerrycans on a wheelbarrow through Kabul's dusty alleys instead of going to school - an ordeal for one family that reflects Afghanistan's deepening water crisis.

Once supplied with water from their own well, the family of 13 has had to queue at communal taps or pool money for costly water tankers since their supply dried up four years ago.

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) -Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves was interrupted on Monday by a protester holding a Palestinian flag during her speech at the Labour party conference in Liverpool.

Reeves quickly resumed, saying she understood the cause and noted that Britain had decided to recognise a Palestinian state.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill in Liverpool, William James in London; Editing by Kate Holton)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Alexander Cornwell

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli tanks thrust closer to the heart of Gaza City on Monday, pressing a ground offensive hours before talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, who has hinted at a diplomatic breakthrough in a bid to end the war.

After nearly two years of failed diplomatic efforts, Washington presented a 21-point plan to Arab and Muslim states last week that calls for a permanent ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union confirmed on Monday that it had reinstated sanctions against Iran, following a similar move against Iran by the United Nations.

"Today, the EU reinstated sanctions against Iran in response to its continued non-compliance with the nuclear agreement. The door for diplomatic negotiations remains open," said the EU presidency in a statement.

The EU said the sanctions included freezing the assets of the Iranian Central Bank and other Iranian banks, as well as travel bans on certain Iranian officials.

Pressure is building on Germany to join steps to sanction Israel over the Gaza war, sparking heated debate in a country that has long been at pains to atone for the Holocaust.

Berlin, a steadfast supporter of Israel in the post-World War II era, has grown increasingly isolated as many of its Western allies have recognised a Palestinian state.

While they have universally condemned the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that started the war on Gaza, many now argue that Israel's military response has been disproportionate, with no end in sight.

US President Donald Trump secured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's backing for a wide-ranging Gaza peace plan Monday, as the two leaders warned that Israel would "finish the job" against Hamas if the Palestinian militant group rejects the deal.

Hamas had yet to give its judgment on the proposal that Trump unveiled at the White House alongside Netanyahu, leaving uncertainty swirling around the fate of the 20-point plan to end the war.

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran executed a man named Bahman Choubi-asl on Monday, the judiciary's news outlet Mizan said, saying the defendant was "one of the most important spies for Israel in Iran".

Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has executed many individuals it accuses of having links with Israel's Mossad intelligence service and facilitating its operations in the country.