Libya army chief killed in plane crash in Turkey

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Damascus's foreign and defence ministers met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow where they discussed military cooperation, Syrian state media said.

The trip is the latest by Syria's new authorities to Russia since they ousted longtime ruler and Moscow ally Bashar al-Assad last December.

Russia has sheltered the former leader and his family ever since they fled Islamist-led forces closing in on Damascus.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Putin discussed "political, military and economic issues of common interest with a particular focus on strategic cooperation in the field of military industries", state news agency SANA said.

It said they discussed ways to develop military and technical partnerships "to strengthen the Syrian army's defence capabilities and keep up with modern developments in military industries, particularly in the fields of modernising military equipment, transferring technical expertise and cooperating on research and development", SANA added.

This would help "strengthen the national defence system and support security and stability in Syria and the region", the report said.

(AFP)

The private jet carrying the head of Libya's armed forces requested emergency landing because of electrical failure before it crashed Tuesday, a senior Turkish official has said.

"A private jet carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed al-Haddad, four members of his entourage and three crew members reported an emergency to the air traffic control centre due to an electrical failure, asking for an emergency landing," Burhanettin Duran, head of the presidency's communications directorate, said on X.

(AFP)

The United States and Iran traded barbs at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday over conditions for reviving nuclear talks, with the US saying it remains ready for direct negotiations and Iran rejecting Washington's terms.

The two countries held five rounds of nuclear talks prior to a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, which Washington joined by striking Iranian nuclear sites.

The talks faced major stumbling blocks, notably over uranium enrichment on Iranian soil - a practice Western powers want eliminated to minimise the risk of weaponisation, but which Tehran has firmly rejected.

"The United States remains available for formal talks with Iran, but only if Tehran is prepared for direct and meaningful dialogue," Trump's deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus told the Security Council on Tuesday.

"We have been clear, however, about certain expectations for any arrangement. Foremost, there can be no enrichment inside of Iran, and that remains our principle," Ortagus said.

Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the meeting the US was not pursuing fair negotiation by insisting on a zero enrichment policy.

"We appreciate any fair and meaningful negotiation, but insisting on zero enrichment policy, it is contrary to our rights as a member of the NPT, and it means that they are not pursuing the fair negotiation," he said, referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

(Reuters)

A plane carrying the Libya's army chief has crashed in Turkey shortly after taking off from Ankara airport, killing all on board.

Turkish officials earlier said they had lost contact with the jet, which was carrying Chief of Staff Mohammed Al-Haddad and other military officials.

Libyan prime minister Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the news, describing their deaths as a "great loss for the nation" in a social media post.

Turkey's interior minister said Turkish gendarmerie had located the wreckage about 45 miles south-west of Ankara.

Al-Hadded had held talks with Turkey's defence minister earlier on Tuesday.

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Radio contact was lost with a jet carrying Libya's army chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, shortly after takeoff from the Turkish capital Ankara en route to Tripoli, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.

Yerlikaya said on social media platform X that the jet had taken off at 1710 GMT and radio contact was lost at 1752 GMT. He said the flight had made a request for an emergency landing while over the Haymana district of Ankara, but that no contact was established after.

Four others were on the jet, he added, while flight tracking data showed other flights being diverted away from Ankara's Esenboga Airport.

Turkey's defence ministry had announced the Libyan chief of staff's visit earlier, saying he had met with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, along with other Turkish military commanders.

(Reuters)

A prominent American Islamist journalist who has been critical of Syria's new government and its nascent partnership with the United States has been detained by Syrian security forces, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Bilal Abdul Kareem, a former stand-up comedian in the U.S. turned war journalist who has lived in Syria since 2012 and worked with many foreign media outlets, was detained in Al-Bab in northern Aleppo province on Monday, they said.

Syria's information ministry, an interior ministry spokesperson and a spokesperson for the U.S. special envoy to Syria did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Abdul Kareem has been a prominent voice among foreign Islamists in Syria, giving air to hardliners who view President Ahmed al-Sharaa - who once commanded Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria - as compromising too much on Islamic values since taking power.

(Reuters)

A former Syrian intelligence officer who was close to one of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad's top army commanders was killed in Lebanon, a judicial official said Tuesday, with the army announcing it had arrested a suspect.

It was the first confirmation since Assad's ouster in December last year of a former Syrian government official being present in Lebanon, though many in Syria believe Assad-era figures are hiding in the neighbouring country.

The judicial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the body of Ghassan al-Sukhni was found near the house where he was staying in the Kesrwan area, north of Beirut.

Lebanon's army announced in a statement on X that it had arrested the alleged perpetrator, who it said killed Sukhni "following a financial dispute".

The judicial official said Sukhni "sought refuge in Lebanon after the fall of the Assad regime" and was a former Syrian intelligence officer closely associated with Suhail al-Hassan.

Nicknamed "The Tiger", Hassan led Syria's special forces under Assad and was frequently described as the former ruler's "favourite soldier".

He was responsible for key military advances by the Assad government in 2015 during Syria's civil war.

(AFP)

Lebanese army commander Rodolphe Haykal has said the military is close to completing the first phase of its current plan and has begun evaluation, study and preparation for the next stages, amid what he described as an exceptional and sensitive period for the country.

Haykal was speaking during an extraordinary meeting held at army headquarters in Yarze, attended by senior command staff, unit and brigade commanders and a number of officers. 

The meeting focused on the latest developments facing Lebanon and the army, particularly in light of continued Israeli violations and attacks.

The session opened with a minute of silence in honour of fallen soldiers and national martyrs, including a Lebanese soldier killed in an Israeli strike on the Quneitra–Maamariyeh–Sidon road on Monday.

Addressing attendees, Haykal said that at a time of heightened challenges, the sacrifices and sustained efforts of soldiers across all ranks and roles remain a cornerstone of Lebanon's resilience and future.

He stressed that members of the armed forces are actively shaping the country's history through their commitment to the military's core principles, adding that these principles will not change regardless of pressure.

"We bow to the sacrifices of our soldiers, which contribute directly to the army's achievements," Haykal said. 

"Every role is vital to the army's performance, and every act of dedication helps build a better future for our country."

The Palestinian presidency said on Tuesday that the demand for the release of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti has always been at the top of the agenda of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah movement.

The statement followed a meeting in Ramallah between Abbas and Fadwa Barghouti, Barghouti's wife, as part of efforts to support a Palestinian, Arab and international campaign calling for his release.

The presidency praised Barghouti's steadfastness, determination and what it described as his courageous national positions. It also paid tribute to the resilience of other Palestinian prisoners, describing them as continuing to struggle for freedom and statehood.

Barghouti has been subjected to repeated assaults inside Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups. The Palestinian Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said last week that Barghouti has been violently attacked seven times since the start of Israel's war on Gaza nearly two years ago.

According to the two organisations, the assaults caused multiple rib fractures. The most recent attack took place on 15 September 2025, about a month after Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed Barghouti's cell and threatened him.

The Palestinian Authority condemned on Tuesday Israel's plan to approve 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing it of tightening its control over Palestinian land.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign ministry described the move as a "dangerous step aimed at tightening colonial control over the entirety of Palestinian land", calling it a continuation of "apartheid, settlement, and annexation policies that undermine the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people".

Gaza's health ministry has said that in the last 24 hours, it received the body of one person killed by Israel, as well as four bodies recovered. 

Lebanon on Tuesday rejected Israeli accusations that a Lebanese soldier killed in an air strike near the southern city of Sidon had links to Hezbollah, after Israel said it had attacked three militants working to rebuild the group's infrastructure.

Israel's military said the men were involved in planning attacks against its forces and that two were members of Hezbollah's air defence unit. It also alleged that one of those killed was serving concurrently in Lebanese army intelligence.

The Lebanese army later confirmed that Warrant Officer Ali Abdullah of the army's Support Brigade and Anti-Tank Regiment was killed when an Israeli air strike hit a vehicle near Sidon on Monday.

The Lebanese defence ministry said suggestions that army personnel were tied to political or armed groups were false, and Defence Minister Michel Menassa said such reports amounted to a "malicious attack" on the institution.

A Hezbollah official also denied to Reuters any link between the group and members of the Lebanese army.

An Israeli patrol blew up a three-storey house in Meis el-Jabal between 2:00 and 3:00 am, according to L'Orient Today, which added that the building was destroyed, with the debris blocking the town's road.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz appeared to backtrack on earlier remarks regarding the establishment of settlements in Gaza, with his office issuing a statement denying any such plans.

In the statement, Katz’s office said that “the government has no intention of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip”, seeking to clarify comments made earlier in the day.

Katz maintained that his remarks about establishing outposts in northern Gaza “were made solely in a security context”, amid mounting criticism and scrutiny over his earlier statements.

Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian home in the south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank overnight, spraying tear gas at children and killing sheep, a Palestinian official said Tuesday. It was the latest in a surge of attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the territory in recent months.

Israeli police said they arrested five settlers.

The settlers smashed a door and a window of the home, firing tear gas inside that sent three Palestinian children under the age of 4 to the hospital, said Amir Dawood, who directs an office documenting such attacks within a Palestinian governmental body called the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

He said settlers also entered the family's sheep pen, killing three sheep and injuring four others.

Israeli police said they arrested the five settlers on suspicion of trespassing onto Palestinian land, damaging property and dispensing pepper spray. They said they are investigating.

CCTV video from the attack in the town of As Samu’, shared by the commission, showed five masked settlers in dark clothing, some with batons, approaching the home and appearing to enter. Sounds of smashing are heard, as well as animal noises. Another video from inside shows masked figures appearing to strike sheep in the stable.

Photos of the aftermath, also shared by the commission, show smashed car windows and a shattered front door. Bloodied sheep lie dead as others stand with blood staining their wool. Inside the home, photos show broken glass and the furniture ransacked.

Dawood said it was the second settler attack on the family in less than two months. 

Nearly 50 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have sent a letter to US President Donald Trump expressing concern over Israel's actions in Gaza, which they say threaten the ceasefire. The lawmakers specifically pointed to continued bombardment of the enclave and the insufficient delivery of humanitarian aid.

The lawmakers said their letter, sent days ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was based on "the long-standing relationship between the United States and Israel".

"It is imperative that we hold the Israeli government accountable for its actions," the letter said. The Democratic lawmakers added that while Hamas has also committed ceasefire violations, Israel's response has been "harsh and disproportionate, resulting in massive loss of life."

Israeli forces have stormed the Qalandiya refugee camp and the town of Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem, on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by military bulldozers and dozens of soldiers who were heavily deployed along the main road and throughout neighbourhoods of the camp and Kafr Aqab. 

The raid involved intensive firing of sound grenades, tear gas and rubber-coated bullets, causing extreme tension among residents.

The Jerusalem Governorate said it had observed unusual movements since the early morning hours, including a heavy buildup of military vehicles and bulldozers around the area, indicating preparations for the raid.

According to the governorate, the assault followed leaflets distributed by the Israeli army claiming it intended to enter the area under the pretext of "removing violations". In practice, however, forces began by attacking residents and using excessive force inside densely populated residential neighbourhoods, in conduct reflecting a repressive approach unrelated to any civilian measures.

The Jerusalem Governorate warned of the dangers posed by the continuation of the raid and its repercussions on residents' lives and safety, holding the occupation authorities fully responsible for any escalation that may result, amid the charged atmosphere and rising tension in the area.

British police have arrested Swedish activist Greta Thunberg in London at a pro-Palestinian protest, UK-based campaign group Defend Our Juries said on Tuesday.

Police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation. The campaign group said she was arrested under the Terrorism Act at the "Prisoners for Palestine" protest outside the offices of Aspen Insurance in the British capital.

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday vowed Israel will remain in Gaza and pledged to establish outposts in the north of the Palestinian territory, according to a video of a speech published by Israeli media.

Speaking at an event in the Israeli settlement of Beit El in the occupied West Bank, Katz said: "We are deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave Gaza - there will be no such thing."

"We are there to protect, to prevent what happened (from happening again)," he added, according to a video published by Israeli news site Ynet.

Katz also vowed to establish outposts in the north of Gaza in place of settlements that had been evacuated during Israel's unilateral disengagement from the territory in 2005.

"When the time comes, God willing, we will establish in northern Gaza, Nahal outposts in place of the communities that were uprooted," Katz said, referring to military-agricultural settlements set up by Israeli soldiers.

"We will do this in the right way and at the appropriate time."

A Palestinian man, Yousef Omar Aql, 33, from the town of Biddya west of Salfit in the northern West Bank, has died on Tuesday, a week after he was shot by the Israeli army while attempting to reach his workplace in Israel

Dr Iyad al-Qaram, secretary of the Fatah movement in the Biddya organisational area, told The New Arab's Arabic edition that Aql was trying to cross the separation wall built on the lands of the town of al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, when Israeli soldiers opened fire on him, wounding him in the leg and causing severe bleeding. He was subsequently transferred to hospital in a critical condition.

According to al-Qaram, doctors attempted over the past week to carry out the necessary surgeries and provide Aql with blood transfusions, but medical efforts were unsuccessful, and his death was announced on Tuesday morning.

Al-Qaram said the funeral is scheduled to take place today in his hometown of Biddya, noting that Aql was married and a father of two children.

He added that the killing of Yousef Aql comes amid a series of Israeli violations against Palestinian workers. 

At least eight workers from Biddya were injured over the past month while trying to reach their workplaces inside Israel, including two who were wounded in the same incident that later led to Aql's death.

A former close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered Israel's two-year war on Gaza, the Israeli leader instructed him to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach.

Former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who faces trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the press, made the explosive accusation during an extensive interview with Israel's Kan news channel Monday night.

Speaking to Kan, Feldstein said "the first task" he received from Netanyahu after the attack, was to stifle calls for accountability.

"He asked me, 'What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility?'" Feldstein said. "He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not."

He added that Netanyahu looked "panicked" when he made the request. Feldstein said he was later told by people in Netanyahu's close circle to omit the word "responsibility" from all statements.

Israeli forces have stormed the town of Silat al-Dhahr, south of Jenin, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa, adding that military reinforcements were also deployed to the town of Sanur.

The US is considering holding a conference on the reconstruction of Gaza, largely destroyed by Israel's war on the enclave, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Discussions of a venue have taken place for the conference, which would likely only be held after the ceasefire moves into its second phase, which would see the implementation of a technocratic Palestinian government to run the enclave under the leadership of an international "Board of Peace".

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said it is continuing to provide winter relief to Gaza amid a severe lack of shelter and adequate clothing for displaced Palestinians.

The agency estimates that three-quarters of women-headed households need shelter support, and two-thirds need clothing.

OCHA said that 3,500 families in storm-affected areas had received tents, bedding, mattresses and blankets, while 250,000 children had received winter clothing. 630,000 are still in need of winter clothing assistance, however.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday he called Israeli President Isaac Herzog and invited him to visit Australia, expressing his shock and dismay over the attack at the Jewish community Chanukah event on Bondi Beach last week.

Herzog said he would accept the invitation and mentioned that the President of the Zionist Federation of Australia also sent him an official invitation expressing their wish for him to visit, and he intends to do so, Albanese said in a post on X.

Three Palestinians were injured during a settler attack on the town of as-Samu, south of Hebron, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. 

Settlers pelted the home of a resident of the town, smashing windows and physically assaulting family members. The report states that three people were transferred to the Yatta Governmental Hospital.

According to Israeli media, five Israelis have been arrested by Israeli police for the attack, which also saw the killing of sheep.