DUBAI: Oil ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council and reaffirmed their commitment to the OPCE+ deal during a virtual meeting, state news agency SPA reported.
Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al-Mazrouei, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Khaled Al-Fadhel, Bahraini Oil Minister Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Omani Oil and Gas Minister Mohammed Al-Rumhi and Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Ismail discussed renewed global demand for oil and the progress of implementing the OPEC+ agreement.
The ministers agreed that members that failed to fully comply with production cuts in May, June and July will accelerate their output reduction.
“Full compliance to the OPEC+ deal, including making up for the limited progress on adherence, would speed up the recovery of the global oil market to the best interest of oil consumers and producers alike, the energy industry and the world economy,” the joint statement read.
GCC and Iraq oil ministers reaffirm commitment to OPEC+ deal
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GCC and Iraq oil ministers reaffirm commitment to OPEC+ deal
- Countries agreed to increase their output cuts to make up for earlier production
- The ministers released a joint statement after the meeting
Israel sends aid to Syrian Druze as clerics prepare for historic visit
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel has sent 10,000 humanitarian aid packages to Syria’s Druze community while also strengthening ties with the group, as a delegation of Druze clerics prepares for a historic visit to Israel.
The aid, including basic goods such as oil, flour, salt, and sugar, was delivered to the conflict-affected southern province of Suwayda, Israel’s Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Syrian Druze clerics is preparing to visit Israel this Friday, marking the first such visit since 1948.
The group, invited by Israel's Druze community, will visit the Tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Galilee and meet with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community.
The visit has faced strong opposition within Syria's Druze community, with some members expressing disapproval of the trip.
Russian says military base in Syria sheltering 8,000 displaced
- The Russian airbase at Hmeimim has sheltered over 8,000 locals fleeing violence
MOSCOW: Russia is sheltering at its Hmeimim military air base in western Syria more than 8,000 Syrians who fled a wave of sectarian mass killings, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.
“The Russian air base at Hmeimim has opened its doors to local residents fleeing from the pogroms... Our military have given refuge to more than 8,000 people,” Maria Zakharova told reporters at a regular briefing.
Israeli airstrike targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus
- The Syrian monitor says at least one dead in Israel strike
DAMASCUS: Israeli aircraft struck a building in Damascus on Thursday, Syria's state news agency SANA reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, confirmed the attack, stating that two missiles hit the building, killing at least one person. The airstrike took place in an area where Palestinian leaders are known to reside.
According to two Syrian security sources, the target of the Israeli strike was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization headquarters. One of the sources identified the victim as a Palestinian person. However, the Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, though an Israeli army radio military correspondent confirmed that an Israeli aircraft had targeted the Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus.
Turkiye says forces killed 24 Kurdish militants in Syria, Iraq in a week
- A defense ministry source said the deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus did not change Turkiye’s commitment to counter-terrorism in Syria
ANKARA: Turkish forces killed 24 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Syria over the past week, the defense ministry said on Thursday, continuing attacks in the region after a disarmament call from the PKK leader and a separate accord between US-backed Kurds and Damascus.
Speaking at a briefing in Ankara, a defense ministry source said the deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus did not change Turkiye’s commitment to counter-terrorism in Syria, and that it still demands that the YPG militia, which spearheads the SDF, disband and disarm.
Turkiye views the SDF, which controls much of northeast Syria, as a terrorist group linked with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. It has carried out several cross-border offensives against the group.
The PKK’s leader, jailed in Turkiye, called for the group to disarm last month. The group is based in northern Iraq.
Israel releases fifth detainee says Lebanon army
- Israel had earlier said it was releasing the five as a goodwill gesture to Lebanon’s recently appointed President Joseph Aoun
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said it received on Thursday a soldier taken by Israel last weekend, after Israel handed over four other detainees earlier this week.
“The army through the International Committee of the Red Cross received (on Thursday) the soldier who was kidnapped by the Israeli enemy” on Sunday, the army said on X, adding that he had been transported to a hospital for treatment.
On Tuesday, Lebanon received four detainees who had been taken into custody by Israel during its war with Hezbollah, after Israel announced it was releasing them.
“Lebanon received four Lebanese prisoners who were detained by Israeli forces during the last war,” the presidency said at the time, adding the fifth was due to be released the following day.
Israel had earlier said it was releasing the five as a goodwill gesture to Lebanon’s recently appointed President Joseph Aoun.
“In coordination with the United States and as a gesture to Lebanon’s new president, Israel has agreed to release five Lebanese detainees,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The office said the decision came after a meeting held earlier in the day in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura that included representatives of the Israeli army, the United States, France and Lebanon.
In an interview to Lebanese news channel Al-Jadeed, US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said the five Lebanese prisoners were a mix of civilians and soldiers.
On November 27, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-French mediated truce that has largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
While the ceasefire continues to hold, Israel has periodically carried out air strikes on Lebanon that it says are to prevent Hezbollah from rearming or returning to the area along its northern border.
