Spotlight
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose country hosted an Arab League summit, said Baghdad would provide $40 million for the reconstruction of Lebanon and Gaza after wars with Israel.

Arab leaders meeting at a summit in Baghdad urged the international community to press for a Gaza ceasefire, as Israel launched an expanded military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Arab League is meeting in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss Gaza and other regional crises, but some key leaders are expected to miss the talks that come straight after U.S. President Donald Trump's Gulf tour.

Gaza rescuers said Israeli strikes killed 10 people on Saturday, after the Israeli military announced the early stages of an intensified operation aimed at defeating Hamas.

Protesters expressed Friday support for Daniel Yahalom, a reserve soldier who is serving five days in prison for refusing to participate in what he called an unjust fight.
He’s part of a small but growing number of Israelis who are refusing to show up for service as the war drags on and Israel intensifies its operations in Gaza.

Saudi royalty and American billionaires were in the front row for a speech in Riyadh where President Donald Trump condemned what he called past U.S. interference in the wealthy Gulf states.
Gone were the days when American officials would fly to the Middle East to give "you lectures on how to live, and how to govern your own affairs," Trump said at a Saudi investment forum this week.

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday killed at least 64 people, hospitals said, as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit that skipped Israel and offered no prospect for a ceasefire in the war-battered territory.
At least 48 bodies were brought to the Indonesian hospital and another 16 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, health officials said, as strikes overnight into Friday morning hit the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis.

President Donald Trump President Donald Trump wrapped up a Mideast tour in the United Arab Emirates with a breakfast for business leaders and a visit to an interfaith place of worship named for the Abraham Accords he negotiated.
As part of the accords, the UAE and some other countries in the Middle East recognized Israel. Trump departs Abu Dhabi after his visit to the Abrahamic Family House.

Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, branded Donald Trump's decision to lift U.S. sanctions on his country "historic and courageous", calling it a turning point for a nation shattered by war and isolation.

Palestinian rescuers reported 94 people killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a U.S.-backed organization said it intends to begin distributing aid by the end of the month.
