Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Friday, officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said, in the latest step to fulfilling the terms of the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.

The bodies were returned after militants late Thursday handed over the body of one of the last four remaining Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza.

South African authorities faced heavy criticism Friday after they held more than 150 Palestinians, including a woman who is nine months pregnant, on a plane for around 12 hours due to complications with their travel documents.

A pastor who was allowed to meet with the passengers while they were still stuck on the plane said it was extremely hot and that children were screaming and crying.

Syria's foreign minister officially reopened the country's embassy in London on Thursday after more than a decade-long closure, the latest step in Syria's reintegration into the international community after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.

The visit by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to the United Kingdom came after a historic visit to Washington by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first by a president from Syria since the country's independence in 1946.

A U.S. high-tech arms company is to design and produce AI-powered drones in the United Arab Emirates under a joint venture, the two parties said on Thursday, strengthening close defense ties.

Following Iraq's parliamentary election this week, the complex and often lengthy task of choosing the country's next leader is set to begin.

The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they would hand over the remains of another hostage on Thursday as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel in Gaza.

"The Al-Quds Brigades and the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of one of the occupation's captives, which was found today in the Morag area north of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip, at 8:00 pm Gaza time (1800 GMT)," a Hamas statement said.

Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians.

One wall and at least three copies of the Quran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched when an AP reporter visited Thursday.

Incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who is vying for a second term, has scored a big win in general elections, sources close to the premier said on Wednesday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he received a letter from US President Donald Trump on Wednesday asking him to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial in three separate corruption cases.

Taiwan wants to deepen its ties with Israel despite criticism over its war in Gaza because Israel has shown support for Taiwan unmatched by other countries in the Middle East, the island democracy's foreign minister told reporters on Wednesday.

Taiwan will be "friendly to countries that are friendly to us," Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung said. He said that a declaration signed earlier this year by 72 members of the Israeli parliament in support of Taiwan's inclusion in key international organizations is an example of Israel's support.