Cautious calm in Hassakah as four-day ceasefire holds between Syrian army, SDF

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An Egyptian aid organisation said the Israeli military targeted a car bearing their logo in an air strike in central Gaza on Wednesday, which the civil defence said killed three journalists including an AFP freelancer.

"A vehicle belonging to the Egyptian Committee was targeted during a humanitarian mission, resulting in the martyrdom of three individuals," said Mohammed Mansour, a spokesman for the Egyptian Relief Committee in the Gaza Strip, adding that all vehicles belonging to the group "bear the committee's logo".

The United States launched an operation on Wednesday that could ultimately transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State group detainees from Syria to neighbouring Iraq, the US military said.

The aim of the operation - which began with the movement of 150 of the jihadist group's fighters - is to "help ensure the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities," US Central Command said in a post on X.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar have accepted invitations to join US President Donald Trump's "board of peace" for Gaza, their foreign ministers said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

#Statement | The Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, and the UAE welcome the invitation extended to their leaders by the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, to join the Board of Peace. pic.twitter.com/z0w2X0xdDJ

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) January 21, 2026

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it should be known within three weeks whether Hamas will agree to give up its weapons, and threatened action if the group does not.

"That's what they agreed to. They've got to do it. And we're going to know... over the next two or three days - certainly over the next three weeks - whether or not they're going to do it," Trump said in a question and answer session following his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"If they don't do it, they'll be blown away very quickly. They'll be blown away."

Syria's government said a drone strike by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces killed seven of its soldiers on Wednesday, though the SDF denied this, in an incident that threatens to derail a ceasefire after days of fighting in the northeast.

The Syrian army called the attack, which it said took place as soldiers were securing a captured military base containing explosives, a dangerous escalation.

The SDF, previously the main US ally in Syria, said it had not carried out a strike and that the blast had occurred when Syrian soldiers were moving explosives. It accused the Syrian army of violating the truce with attacks in several locations.

Pakistan has accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation to join his "Board of Peace" for achieving "lasting peace in Gaza", the country's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The Israeli military issued a displacement warning on Wednesday to residents of certain buildings in the South Lebanese villages of Qennarit, Kfour and Jarjouaa ahead of planned strikes on what was described as Hezbollah infrastructure.

Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli strike in the centre of the territory on Wednesday killed three journalists, including a freelancer who regularly contributed for AFP, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

In a statement, the civil defence said "the bodies of the three journalists killed in an Israeli air strike in the Al-Zahra area southwest of Gaza City were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah".

It named the dead as Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaat and Anas Ghneim.

Shaat had contributed regularly to AFP as a photo and video journalist, but at the time of the strike he was not on assignment for the agency.

Syria's defence ministry said seven soldiers were killed on Wednesday when the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces targeted an arms depot in the country's northeast, despite a fresh ceasefire announced a day earlier.

"Army forces found a factory for producing explosive devices and drone munitions" in Hassakeh province near a border crossing with Iraq, the ministry said, adding that as government forces began securing the site, the SDF "targeted it with a suicide drone, leading to an explosion and the death of seven soldiers", with 20 others wounded.

Azerbaijan has accepted an invitation from Trump to join the "Board of Peace" and "relevant measures will be taken within the framework of the required procedures".

"The Republic of Azerbaijan accepted the said invitation and informed the US side of its intention to become a founding member state of the Peace Council," a government statement said.

"Azerbaijan, as always, is ready to actively contribute to international cooperation, peace and stability."

Norway has announced it would not be joining the "Board of Peace".

"The American proposal raises a number of questions" requiring "further dialogue with the United States", State Secretary Kristoffer Thoner said in a statement.

"Norway will therefore not join the proposed arrangements for the board of peace, and will therefore not attend a signing ceremony in Davos."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he hoped the full integration of Kurdish forces in Syria would herald a new era for the neighbouring country.

In a speech to his AK Party's lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan said he had a fruitful call with US President Donald Trump on Syria, including talks on the battle with Islamic State militants there.

The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow on Thursday.

Abbas was due to arrive in Moscow later on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Egypt's foreign ministry said Wednesday that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has accepted an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join his "Board of Peace".

Egypt "announces its acceptance of the invitation and its commitment to fulfilling the relevant legal and constitutional procedures," the statement said, praising Trump for his Middle East policies.

"Egypt expresses its support for the Board of Peace's mission for the second phase of the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza," it added.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish forces in northern Syria must lay down weapons and immediately disband so that a resolution can be found without further bloodshed, after Damascus gave them four days to agree on integrating into the central state.

In a speech to lawmakers from his AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said he welcomed Tuesday's ceasefire agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after lightning government advances in recent days.

The widow of Iran's former shah, Farah Pahlavi, told AFP there was "no turning back" after a wave of protests against the country's clerical authorities, saying she is convinced the Iranian people will emerge the "victors".

Driven into exile with her husband in January 1979 during the popular revolution that brought the Islamic Republic to power, she said her "desire" and her "need today are to return to Iran", in an exclusive interview with AFP.

Triggered on 28 December by protests over economic hardship, nationwide rallies surged on 8 January, challenging the Islamic republic in power since 1979, before a violent crackdown that rights groups say has left thousands dead.

An Iranian Kurdish opposition party headquartered in Iraq accused Iran on Wednesday of conducting a rocket and drone attack on its premises, killing one of its members and wounding two others.

"At dawn today, the occupying Iranian state... targeted one of the Kurdistan National Army's headquarters" using missiles and drones, said the Kurdistan Freedom Party, referring to an armed group that operates under its authority.

The attack, it said, killed a member of the party and injured two others. "We believe the reason we were targeted is because of our activities, particularly our calls for people in Iran to protest against the regime, and especially because we also have an organised and trained military force," a party official told AFP.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" aimed at resolving conflicts, Netanyahu's office said Wednesday.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he has accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation and will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of leaders of the world," the office said in a statement.

The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of post-war Gaza, but its charter seen by AFP does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory, and members have to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on it.

The board "seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict", reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate.

It will be chaired by Trump himself, who will also "separately serve" as the representative of the United States.

Syria's army on Wednesday entered the country's vast Al-Hol detention camp that houses relatives of suspected Islamic State militants, from which Kurdish forces withdrew the day before, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The correspondent saw a large number of soldiers open the camp's metal gate and enter, while others guarded the entrance.

Al-Hol, located in a desert region of Hasakeh province, holds around 24,000 people, including 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children of 42 nationalities.

The Syrian defence ministry said Tuesday it was ready to take responsibility for Al-Hol camp "and all IS prisoners".