Middle East live: US envoy Kushner to meet Netanyahu after talks with Hamas

Drones attack the Kurdistan Regional Government prime minister’s office in Iraq

Two ⁠drones ​attacked ​the office of the Kurdistan Regional ​Government’s ‌prime ⁠minister ‌in Iraq on Monday, ⁠the KRG security ​agency said.

The ‌attacks were launched ‌from Iranian ​territory and no human casualties were ​reported, ​according to ​a KRG ​statement.

Israel’s Ben-Gvir advocates killing ’30 to 40′ people in Gaza nightly while speaking to ex-hostage

An extremist Israeli lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition publicly advocated for killing “30 to 40” people in Gaza each night, comments that surfaced Sunday and were quickly shared by Palestinian media.

Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir made the statement while speaking to a former Gaza-held hostage, Rom Braslavski, on Braslavski’s podcast. The two were discussing Israel’s recovery from the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, when Ben-Gvir criticized Israel’s recent drawdown of strikes in Gaza.

“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,» he said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”

Shipping via Hormuz strait slows after tanker attacks, data shows

Shipping​through the ​Strait of Hormuz slowed over the ​weekend,  data ‌showed ⁠on ‌Monday, following attacks on tankers, ⁠while US-Iran talks to ​resolve the Middle ‌East conflict stalled.

Five commodity ‌vessels transited ​the strait on Saturday, with none registered ​for ​Sunday, shiptracking ​data from Kpler showed, ​versus 31 in the prior weekend

US envoy Kushner to meet with Netanyahu after talks with Hamas on Gaza

US envoy Jared Kushner is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after holding talks with Hamas leaders in Egypt aimed at reviving a US-backed Gaza peace plan that Israel has so far rejected.

The meeting comes two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump’s Gaza plan, which Netanyahu has refused to support, insisting any settlement must ensure the group is «genuinely disarmed».

Kushner — Trump’s son-in-law — met Hamas’s new leader Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian Meditarranean city of El-Alamein on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the talks told AFP.

Kushner pushed for Hamas to take «concrete, verifiable steps» and relayed a message that «Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel», said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.

Hamas again voiced its commitment to the plan, another source said.