By Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. gathered intelligence last year that Israel’s military lawyers warned there was evidence that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza – operations reliant on American-supplied weapons, five former U.S. officials said.

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Israel's ambassador to Mexico starting late last year, but the effort was contained and there is no current threat, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plot against the ambassador, Einat Kranz Neiger, was active through the first half of this year.

By Nafisa Eltahir

AL-DABBA, Sudan (Reuters) -Civilians in al-Fashir were shot in the streets, targeted in drone strikes and crushed by trucks, witnesses to the first days of the RSF's takeover described to Reuters, providing a glimpse into the violent capture of one of Sudan's largest cities.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) -The director of Israel's entry for the 2026 Oscars about a Palestinian boy's quest to see the sea hopes it will help arouse compassion in his homeland during so much conflict.

Prospects for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians have rarely looked so bleak after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, two years of war in Gaza and surging settler violence in the West Bank.

Tommy Fleetwood produced another strong round on Friday to head into the weekend at the Abu Dhabi Championship tied for the lead with fellow Englishman Aaron Rai.

Fleetwood started his second round with three birdies in a row and carded seven in total, shooting a six-under 66 to climb to 14-under for the tournament.

The two-time former winner and reigning FedEx Cup champion began the day in a five-way share of the lead but soon hit the front after catching up with early starter Nacho Elvira.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -Nearly 100 people have been recorded as abducted or disappeared in Syria since the start of the year, with reports of new enforced disappearances continuing, the U.N. human rights office said on Friday.

"Eleven months since the fall of the former government in Syria, we continue to receive worrying reports about dozens of abductions and enforced disappearances," spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Thameen Al-Keetan told reporters in Geneva.

French police have arrested four people after a Paris concert by Israel's national orchestra was disrupted, a prosecutor said Friday, with organisers saying protesters lit smoke flares at the event.

The visit drew criticism from several groups ahead of the concert at the Paris Philharmonic hall, over Israel's conduct during its two-year military offensive in Gaza.

Several individuals repeatedly interrupted Thursday's concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the venue said.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa will become Syria's first leader to pay an official visit to the White House on Monday, a crowning achievement for the ex-jihadist who since taking power has ended his country's isolation.

Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, will meet President Donald Trump during the unprecedented visit.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that Sharaa will "hopefully" sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against the Islamic State (IS).

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran seeks peace, but will not bow to coercion, adding that Tehran will not abandon its nuclear programme, state media reported on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran had been asking if U.S. sanctions against the country could be lifted.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Writing by Ahmed Elimam; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

By Timour Azhari

(Reuters) -Turkey is preparing a law to let thousands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters and civilians return home from hideouts in northern Iraq under negotiations to end generations of war.

A senior Middle East official and a Kurdish political party source in Turkey said the proposed law would protect those returning home but stop short of offering a general amnesty for crimes committed by former militants. Some militant leaders could be sent to third countries under the plans.