Mena Today

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he may travel to Egypt this weekend as his negotiators seek to seal a Gaza hostages-for-ceasefire deal.

French-German national Lennart Monterlos has been released from detention in Iran and is back in France, outgoing French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) must abandon its "separatist agenda", a day after the group's leader and Syria's government announced a ceasefire.

Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel voiced strong support Wednesday for Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s recent firm stance on limiting weapons to the Lebanese state, calling it a "courageous" move at a critical time.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to attend a ministerial meeting to be held on Thursday in Paris with European, Arab and other states to discuss Gaza's post-war transition, three diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

A Jordanian military court on Wednesday sentenced nine defendants to between three and 15 years in jail over an alleged Muslim Brotherhood-linked plot to destabilise the country, a case that led authorities to outlaw the kingdom’s largest opposition group.

Italy's ruling Brothers of Italy party put forward legislation on Wednesday to ban the burqa and niqab in public spaces, part of a broader bill aimed at combating what it called "cultural separatism" linked to Islam.

Turkey has been asked by U.S. President Donald Trump to help convince Hamas to support his plan to end Gaza's war and it has been explaining to the group what needs to be done, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

Youth protesters in Madagascar on Wednesday rejected an offer to join President Andry Rajoelina's "national dialogue" with various groups, accusing his government of repression after weeks of demonstrations in the African island nation.

Hamas said on Wednesday it had exchanged a list of the names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released under a swap deal and that it was optimistic about talks in Egypt on U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.

High-ranking officials from the U.S., Qatar, and Turkey are expected to join indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday in Egypt, as international pressure mounts to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Two years after the Gaza conflict erupted, President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged U.S. support for Gaza security guarantees and said he believes a deal is close to being completed for the remaining hostages.