Israel, which holds parliamentary elections on November 1, has been in conflict with the Palestinians and some neighboring Arab states since it was founded in 1948.

Established as a homeland for the Jewish people in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, it has since emerged as the Middle East's military powerhouse.

The first group of Australian women and children held in a Syrian camp since the Islamic State group fell in 2019 was bound for Sydney despite government opponents arguing they pose an unacceptable extremist threat, a media organization reported on Friday.

The four women and 13 children had left the Roj detention camp in northeast Syria on Thursday and were taken to Iraq before boarding a flight to Australia, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Israel goes to the polls Tuesday for the fifth time in under four years, with veteran right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to make a comeback as premier.

The vote comes at a time talks to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict have long since stalled and as violence has flared again in the occupied West Bank. 

Two Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The ministry announced the death of Imad Abu Rashid, 47, who "was killed by the Israeli occupation, after being shot in the abdomen, chest and head".

Iraq's parliament has given its vote of confidence to a new Cabinet, breaking a yearlong political stalemate. It's the first government since 2005 that doesn't include members from the bloc of a powerful Shiite cleric.

A majority of the 253 lawmakers present voted to appoint 21 ministers, with two posts — the Construction and Housing Ministry and the Environment Ministry — remaining undecided. Despite those two unresolved appointments, the approved Cabinet lineup constitutes a quorum.

Israel's defense minister on Thursday signaled a possible resumption of defense ties with Turkey as the two nations take steps to normalize their strained relationship.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar in the Turkish capital Ankara, that he instructed his staff "to begin the procedures required in order to resume working relations."

The International Monetary Fund reached a preliminary agreement with the Egyptian government on Thursday, paving the way for the economically troubled Arab nation to access a $3 billion loan, officials said Thursday.

IMF officials said a "staff agreement" between the Egyptian government and IMF leaders had been reached following months of talks, as Egypt struggles to combat surging inflation caused, in part, by the war in Ukraine.

Four pro-Iranian fighters were killed early Thursday during Israeli strikes on several positions near Damascus, a war monitor said, in the third such attack in less than a week.

Israel is holding its fifth national election in under four years, and once again the race is shaping up as a referendum on former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fitness to rule.

Netanyahu has been campaigning while standing trial on corruption charges. As Israel's opposition leader, he has portrayed himself as the victim of a political witch hunt and promised to reform a legal system he sees as profoundly biased against him. His main opponent, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, is marketing himself as a voice of decency and national unity.

The United Nations has procured tens of millions of dollars in contracts with companies linked to Syrian government-backed individuals sanctioned for human rights abuses, according to a report by two non-governmental groups.

Syria's uprising turned civil war that started in 2011 has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million. More than 80% of Syrians now live in poverty, leaving much of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance.