Hamas dissolves Gaza governing body as hundreds of thousands march in Khamenei funeral

This concludes The New Arab’s live coverage of today’s key developments across Iran and the wider Middle East.

Today’s major stories included mass funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Iranian authorities reporting tens of thousands of people received medical treatment as crowds gathered in Tehran and preparations continued for further commemorations.

Elsewhere, diplomatic efforts and political shifts shaped events across the region.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Syria in a landmark visit focused on reconstruction and the country’s transition, while the United Nations welcomed Hamas’s decision to dissolve Gaza’s governing body as part of efforts towards a new framework for Palestinian governance.

In Gaza, the UN raised concerns over restrictions affecting the flow of goods and humanitarian supplies, while a UN body called for the release of detained Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, describing his detention as arbitrary.

Tensions also continued in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank. Lebanon reported a deadly Israeli strike in the south that killed four people, while Israeli forces carried out raids and used tear gas in Qalqilya.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel’s continued presence of obstructing efforts to deploy the Lebanese army and secure a lasting truce.

In Israel, lawmakers advanced a bill to establish a commission of inquiry into failures surrounding the October 7 Hamas attack, while renewed tensions emerged between the government and the Supreme Court over judicial authority.

Thank you for following The New Arab’s live updates. Stay with us for the latest developments and analysis from across the Middle East.

Military cooperation between Egypt and Turkey has rapidly ascended to heights not seen in decades, if not altogether unprecedented ones.

The increased cooperation between these two heavyweight Middle Eastern powers has caused some consternation within Israel.

In June, Egypt hosted a joint air force exercise with Turkey. Combat aircraft from both countries trained together “at a number of air bases in Egypt”. It was the first time both countries held such an exercise in more than a decade.

A second joint exercise kicked off almost immediately, this time with Turkey hosting Egypt’s air force. Citing Egypt’s military, Al-Ahram noted that the exercise reflects the “growing military cooperation between the armed forces of Egypt and Turkey” and forms part of ongoing efforts to “strengthen defence ties between the two countries”.

The exercises followed joint naval drills in late 2025 between the two countries, the first in 13 years. That exercise featured Turkish F-16 fighter jets, frigates, and even a submarine.

American-made F-16s participated in all of these exercises. The jets form the backbone of both countries’ fighter fleets. Turkey has the third-largest F-16 fleet worldwide, while Egypt has the fourth.

Cairo has a more diverse air force, including French-built Dassault Rafale and Russian MiG-29M/M2 fighter jets acquired in the 2010s. Turkey, which has long had an all-American fighter fleet of mostly F-16s, supplemented by aged F-4 Phantom IIs, has taken steps to diversify its air force with a landmark order of Eurofighter Typhoons from Britain. It’s also developing a domestic stealth fighter called the TF Kaan.

The exercises are significant as they mark a major thaw in relations between the two countries. Prior to 2013, they had close military relations.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said at the World Cup on Monday that the suffering of the Palestinian people was a "shame on the world" as he called on football to do more to come to their aid.

Hassan waved a Palestine flag after the Pharaohs beat Australia on penalties to reach the World Cup last 16, where they will meet defending champions Argentina on Tuesday.

"If there is someone who has not felt the suffering of the Palestinian people then he or she has no humanity," Hassan said in a lengthy address to a question on the subject at his pre-match press conference in Atlanta.

"I would like to say this is a shame on us. A shame on the entire world, not just the Arab world, a shame on everyone and a shame on first of all decision makers who leave human beings behind."

Hassan's answer was greeted by applause for many of the journalists present at the press conference.

Egypt's all-time top goalscorer went on to call for FIFA and players to take a more active stance for the Palestinian people.

"My message would be to use football as soft power," he added. "I urge all of you, the media, all athletes worldwide, regardless of their identities maybe we can convey a collective message.

"That is as follows: 'let the Palestinian people be, let them exist, let them live a life of their own'. This is normal."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party has become ideologically inseparable from its far-right coalition partner Otzma Yehudit, Israeli and Palestinian politicians and analysts told The New Arab, after a Likud minister publicly acknowledged there were "not many ideological differences" between the two parties.

For Ofer Cassif, a Knesset member from the left-wing Palestinian-Jewish Hadash party, the remarks simply confirmed what many have warned for years.

"It explicitly confirms what I and my companions have tracked down for years: the total blurring of lines between the Likud and the fascist racist fringe, cementing a long-term shift that has systematically replaced the party's old roots with hardline, populist extremism," he told The New Arab.

"It is Netanyahu who intentionally got rid of old, relatively moderate, 'Likudnics', and substituted them for extremists, of whom May Golan is one of the worst," he added.

Amjad Iraqi, Senior Analyst on Israel and Palestine at the International Crisis Group, also told The New Arab that Likud had undergone a profound ideological shift over recent years.

Although Likud and Otzma Yehudit emerged from different political traditions, he said they are now "bound together by certain core consensus, ideologically, politically, strategically."

"It's no accident, you know, that the current governing coalition has been able to still stay intact… because a lot of the ideological consensus does hold them all together."

Israel is limiting the entry of goods into Gaza through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, according to the UN humanitarian agency.

In its latest update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that last week only 42 percent of supplies sent through Egypt and 65 percent of those arriving from Ashdod port were able to be offloaded at the crossing.

The site, located at the junction of Egypt, Israel and Gaza, is known as Kerem Shalom in Israel.

The UN and its partners delivered around 42,000 pallets of aid to Gaza in June, a decrease from approximately 46,600 pallets in May.

OCHA added that all other cargo crossings remain closed, while restrictions continue on certain categories of supplies entering the territory.

• Massive funeral procession for Khamenei in Tehran: Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran for the funeral procession of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian authorities said tens of thousands received medical treatment during the ceremony as emergency services managed large crowds.
• Khamenei’s body arrives in Qom: The body of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrived in the holy city of Qom ahead of further funeral ceremonies, according to Iranian state television.
• UN calls detention of Gaza doctor arbitrary: A UN human rights body called for the immediate release of prominent Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, saying his detention by Israel was arbitrary and violated international law.
• Israeli strike in southern Lebanon: The Israeli army said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon, claiming it targeted “four suspects” who posed a threat to its forces. Lebanese state media reported that four people were killed in a separate strike on a vehicle in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
• Trump issues warning over Iran talks: US President Donald Trump said Washington would either reach a deal with Iran or the United States would “finish the job”, as tensions remain high between the two countries.
• Macron makes historic Syria visit: French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Syria, becoming the first major Western leader to visit the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Talks are expected to focus on reconstruction, stability and Syria’s political transition.
• France to return Syrian antiquities: Macron announced plans to return Syrian antiquities that had been loaned to France before the outbreak of war.
• Sharaa praises French role in Syria transition: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa praised France’s “constructive role” in supporting the country’s transition following Assad’s removal.
• Netanyahu denies Trump rift: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected reports of tensions with US President Donald Trump, saying they have “differences of opinion” but “see eye-to-eye on just about everything”.
• Israel advances October 7 inquiry bill: The Knesset approved the first reading of a bill establishing a commission to investigate security failures surrounding the October 7 Hamas attack. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote, calling for an independent state commission.
• UN welcomes Hamas Gaza governance move: The United Nations said it welcomed Hamas’s decision to dissolve the body that has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, saying the move could contribute to ceasefire implementation and efforts towards unified Palestinian governance.
• Lebanon accuses Israel of hindering truce efforts: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said continued “Israeli occupation” was preventing the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south and undermining efforts towards a lasting peace.
• Deadly strike reported in southern Lebanon: Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a vehicle killed four people, including a school principal, her mother, a foreign domestic worker and a Syrian worker. Israel said it targeted a perceived threat.
• West Bank raid: Several Palestinians suffered breathing difficulties after Israeli forces fired tear gas during a raid in Qalqilya, according to Palestinian reports.

Several Palestinians suffered breathing difficulties after Israeli forces fired tear gas during a raid on the West Bank city of Qalqilya, according to the Wafa news agency.

Citing sources, Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the city through its main eastern entrance before spreading into northern areas, including the Al-Marj and Al-Naqqar neighbourhoods.

The forces fired sound bombs and tear gas canisters towards a cafe near a checkpoint in the northern part of the city, causing several people to suffer from suffocation.

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a car in the country's south on Monday killed four people, including three women, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said a school principal, her mother, a foreign female domestic worker and a male Syrian worker were killed when an Israeli drone targeted their car as they returned from inspecting their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it identified "four suspects" approaching the area its forces occupy in southern Lebanon who posed a threat and so "conducted a precise strike in order to remove the threat".

Israel has kept up intermittent strikes on south Lebanon, particularly in the Nabatieh area, despite the two-week-old truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.

Both sides accuse the other of violating the ceasefire.

A lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamade, denounced Monday's strike as "a heinous crime against civilians" and blamed it "first and foremost" on the Lebanese state.

His movement has been highly critical of an agreement signed last month by Lebanon and Israel aiming to pave the way for a permanent end to hostilities.

The NNA reported further Israeli strikes on Monday afternoon.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says the continued “Israeli occupation prevents the deployment of the army and is not in the interest of achieving our goals and those of Washington”.

Aoun made the remarks as Israeli air strikes continued in southern Lebanon, killing at least four people, including a married couple.

“There is no place for civil war in Lebanon despite some attempts to incite strife,” he said.

The United Nations has acknowledged Hamas’s decision to dissolve the body that has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, saying it “welcome[s] any step that contributes to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and advances the objectives reflected in relevant Security Council resolutions”.

“As I was saying, we continue to support efforts towards unified Palestinian governance under the Palestinian Authority,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General.

The Israeli parliament approved a bill in its first reading on Monday to set up a commission of inquiry into the security failings that led to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

"The purpose of the proposed law is to bring about a full, thorough, and independent investigation of the events of the... October 7 massacre" and the wars that followed, an explanatory note to the bill said.

Just under 50,000 people received emergency medical treatment during the former Supreme Leader’s funeral procession in Tehran- however no fatalities or other major incidents have been reported.

Iran’s emergency services told the state-linked ISNA news agency that the 48,804 people treated included three successful cardiac resuscitations and around 18,000 outpatient cases.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa hailed France's "constructive role" in the transition since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, as French leader Emmanuel Macron made the first post-conflict visit to Damascus by a Western European leader.

"Macron has sought to engage with us in Syria and followed every step and stage of the transition," Sharaa said in an interview with French channel BFMTV aired on Monday evening, adding France also "helped Syria in lifting the sanctions imposed on it" under Assad.

French President Emanuel Macron will return antiquities loaned to France before the outbreak of civil war in Syria during his visit to the country this week, the Elysee Palace said Monday.

"The president is bringing back to Syria archaeological objects that were loaned to the Arab World Institute in 2010 and which, for obvious reasons, were not able to be returned to Syria," the Elysee said.

These 23 objects returned to the National Museum of Damascus span a period from prehistory through to the Abbasid era and include artefacts covering the Mesopotamian, Canaanite, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad civilisations, the presidency said.

Syria devolved into civil war in 2011, when then-leader Bashar al-Assad brutally cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. In response, Paris broke off diplomatic relations with Damascus.

Assad was subsequently overthrown, 13 years later, by a surprise rebel offensive after they spent years hemmed into a last holdout in the country's northwest.

Emmanuel Macron is the first Western European head of state to visit Syria since the fall of Assad and his replacement by jihadist-turned politician Ahmed al-Sharaa.

During more than a decade of civil war, many of Syria's ancient monuments were damaged or destroyed and tens of thousands of historic objects looted.

Iranian authorities have said they are seeking to avoid a repeat of the disorder seen at Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1989 funeral, which drew an estimated 10 million mourners.

During that event, crowd surges left 10 people dead and more than 10,000 injured.

Jafar Miadfar, head of emergency services, told the state news agency IRNA: “To date, no fatalities have been recorded during this ceremony, and more than 34,000 participants have received medical treatment and emergency medical services.”

Monday’s procession for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will be followed by further ceremonies in the clerical centre of Qom on Tuesday, and in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, before his burial in his hometown of Mashhad in north-eastern Iran on Thursday.

The body of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrived in the holy city of Qom on Monday evening ahead of a planned procession the following day, state television reported.

"The body of the martyred leader has arrived in Qom," south of the capital Tehran, state television said on social media, alongside footage showing a helicopter carrying Khamenei's body landing in the city.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Monday in Syria, making him the first major western leader to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited April but Macron is the first leader from western Europe or North America to do so.

The French president’s visit comes during a period of relative calm in the Middle East after the monthlong war in Iran and Lebanon. He will travel next to Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit, where Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to attend and hold a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said Macron would visit with a business delegation to discuss regional security as well as business and investment opportunities.

Macron was greeted at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

Macron hosted al-Sharaa in Paris in May 2025, where he urged European and U.S. leaders to lift longstanding sanctions on Damascus. Most of those sanctions had since been lifted.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will either make a deal with Iran or "finish the job." He said he would rather make a deal.

The Israeli army says it struck the Al-Aqida area in southern Lebanon, claiming that “four suspects” approaching the so-called security zone in a vehicle posed a threat to its forces.

Four people were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the nearby Nabatieh al-Fawqa area.

The victims included the headteacher of Youssef Shamoun Public School, her mother, a foreign domestic worker, and a Syrian national.

According to the National News Agency (NNA), they were inspecting their family home when their vehicle was hit by a missile near Dar al-Muallimeen.

However, it has yet been confirmed whether the Israeli military was referring to the same incident.

 A UN human rights body on Monday called Israel's detention of Gazan doctor Hussam Abu Safiya arbitrary and sought his immediate release as rights groups and his lawyer warned that his life was in imminent danger.

In its finding, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that Israel's actions contravened multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"The appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Abu Safiya immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law," it said. It also voiced broader concerns that the case, one of several it has received, "may indicate a widespread or systematic practice of arbitrary detention in the country."

Earlier on Monday, the doctor's lawyer alleged that his health was in grave danger and that he had been subjected to brutal abuse on a daily basis, prompting calls for his release from rights groups.

The Israel Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previously, it has rejected allegations that Abu Safiya and other doctors have been mistreated in prison.

The Israeli Supreme Court has in the past declined to comment on appeals for his release. 

Ramallah's Contemporary Arts Festival, one of the largest in the West Bank, started on Monday for the first time since the war in Gaza shut down most cultural activities in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Art, theatre and film festivals once held in Ramallah and elsewhere in the West Bank came to a halt after October 2023, amid escalating violence, Israeli military raids and settler attacks following the outbreak of the Gaza war.

"Culture and art historically play an important and distinctive role in our struggle... because they reflect our identity and reinforce our role as a Palestinian society," Khaled Aliyan, the festival's director, told news agency AFP.

Aliyan said the festival, previously limited to contemporary dance, was expanded to include Palestinian artists from all fields.

Aliyan regretted that the West Bank's cultural life experienced "a forced two-year suspension due to the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip".

Because of the war, many organisers in the field decided to pause cultural activities out of solidarity for their fellow Palestinians living in displacement and constant danger of airstrikes.

The festival began on Monday at Ramallah's Cultural Palace with a showing of the musical play Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah.

Based on an Arabic poem of the same name, the play tells the story of the Banu Hilal tribe, one of the most famous Arab folk epics.

The Khashabi Theatre, a Palestinian acting company based in Haifa in northern Israel, performed the play for the first time in the Palestinian territories, after touring in Europe.

Here are key developments today so far:

• Massive funeral procession in Tehran: Hundreds of thousands of mourners filled the streets of Iran's capital for the funeral procession of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, marking the largest day of a week-long series of memorial ceremonies. State television broadcast aerial footage showing vast crowds stretching through central Tehran.
• Show of support for Iran's leadership: The scale of the procession underscored the continued mobilisation of Iran's clerical establishment following Khamenei's death, with state authorities presenting the turnout as a demonstration of national unity.
• Hamas announces major political shift: In a significant development, Hamas said it would dissolve the governing body that has administered Gaza since 2007, paving the way for a technocratic committee to oversee civilian governance in the territory.
• End of an era in Gaza: The decision marks Hamas' most significant political restructuring in nearly two decades. The group seized control of Gaza from rival movement Fatah in 2007 after winning Palestinian legislative elections the previous year.
• What comes next: The proposed technocratic administration is intended to manage civilian affairs in Gaza as efforts continue to address the humanitarian crisis and discussions over the territory's future governance.