People in Bahrain and Kuwait awoke on Wednesday to the now familiar sound of warning sirens and explosions in the distance, as Iranian strikes again dashed hopes of a return to normalcy.

U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace is planning a pilot "humanitarian zone" in southern Gaza which would aim to accommodate tens of thousands of vetted Palestinian civilians, a board official told AFP.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that U.S. forces would strike Iran "hard" in the coming night, after earlier declaring Washington's ceasefire with Iran over at a NATO summit in Ankara.

"We're gonna hit 'em hard tonight," he said before holding talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, saying: "They violate the agreement every day."

An Israeli strike on Gaza just before the kickoff of the Egypt-Argentina World Cup match killed a top Palestinian aid official who was instrumental in efforts to organize public screenings of the game across the enclave, according to local health officials.

The blast turned what was supposed to be a moment of celebration — the live screening of a potential Argentina upset by an Arab team — into a reminder of how the near-daily Israeli strikes across Gaza are continuing to kill civilians despite a truce reached in October.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the ceasefire with Iran was over, calling Tehran "sick" after Washington launched strikes on the Islamic Republic and Iran said it targeted U.S. bases in the Gulf.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump said at a NATO summit in Ankara when asked if the truce with Iran was now finished. "It's just a waste of time dealing with them."

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Ankara Wednesday where he is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of NATO summit, Turkish television stations reported.

The summit of the military alliance, which closes on Wednesday, has brought 36 heads of state together.

Funeral processions for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf with thousands of mourners present.

The Islamic Republic's dayslong funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body will later be taken from Najaf to the city of Karbala before returned to Iran.

U.S. forces launched strikes on Iran after three commercial vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said, sharply escalating a confrontation that has already shaken efforts to end the Middle East war.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Tuesday that he is counting on an "active French role" to halt Israeli escalations against his country.

During a joint press conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Damascus, Sharaa condemned "systematic Israeli attacks", saying "we are counting on an active French role to stop this escalation and ensure respect for international agreements".

Gulf emirate Qatar on Tuesday condemned Iran for an attack on one of its liquefied natural gas tankers as was transiting off the coast of Oman.

"The targeting of the Qatari vessel 'Al-Rekayyat' while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz constitutes an unacceptable attack on the security & safety of international maritime navigation," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on X adding Qatar holds Iran "fully legally responsible for this attack & for any resulting damages & consequences".