Middle East live: US envoy Kushner to meet Netanyahu after talks with Hamas
LIVE Add Arena.im to your site 17/08/2026 - 10:04 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. 17/08/2026 - 07:24 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.” 17/08/2026 - 06:51 Shipping via Hormuz strait slows after tanker attacks, data shows Shippingthrough 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 17/08/2026 - 06:47 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. Yesterday's developments: US negotiator and President Donald Trump 's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire . Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel 's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed roadmap. 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 . The top US military commander in the Middle East praised the leadership of the long-deployed USS Lincoln after visiting the sailors on the vessel during a regional tour that ended on Saturday, the US Central Command said.