Israel's defense minister on Thursday signaled a possible resumption of defense ties with Turkey as the two nations take steps to normalize their strained relationship.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar in the Turkish capital Ankara, that he instructed his staff "to begin the procedures required in order to resume working relations."

The International Monetary Fund reached a preliminary agreement with the Egyptian government on Thursday, paving the way for the economically troubled Arab nation to access a $3 billion loan, officials said Thursday.

IMF officials said a "staff agreement" between the Egyptian government and IMF leaders had been reached following months of talks, as Egypt struggles to combat surging inflation caused, in part, by the war in Ukraine.

Four pro-Iranian fighters were killed early Thursday during Israeli strikes on several positions near Damascus, a war monitor said, in the third such attack in less than a week.

Israel is holding its fifth national election in under four years, and once again the race is shaping up as a referendum on former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fitness to rule.

Netanyahu has been campaigning while standing trial on corruption charges. As Israel's opposition leader, he has portrayed himself as the victim of a political witch hunt and promised to reform a legal system he sees as profoundly biased against him. His main opponent, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, is marketing himself as a voice of decency and national unity.

The United Nations has procured tens of millions of dollars in contracts with companies linked to Syrian government-backed individuals sanctioned for human rights abuses, according to a report by two non-governmental groups.

Syria's uprising turned civil war that started in 2011 has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million. More than 80% of Syrians now live in poverty, leaving much of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance.

An Algerian court has jailed a journalist convicted of "spreading false news" in an article about dates allegedly tainted with banned pesticides, his newspaper said Wednesday.

Belkacem Houam was handed a year-long prison sentence, most of it suspended, but he will spend two months behind bars, said his paper, Echorouk.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been invited to address a joint meeting of Congress as Israel prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding, which congressional leaders called a "historic and joyous milestone."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued the invitation to Herzog in a joint letter Tuesday. They said the two nations have shared "an unbreakable bond rooted in common security, shared values, and friendship."

Israel on Wednesday detained three alleged members of the Lions' Den militant group in the occupied West Bank, the army said, including the brother of a key Palestinian militant.

The arrest of Muhammad al-Nabulsi and two others in Nablus comes a day after five Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military operation in the city.

The voices of Israel's Palestinian citizens are often drowned out or delegitimized in the country's noisy politics. Yet in the upcoming parliament election, they could hold the key to breaking an entrenched political deadlock.

Israelis vote Tuesday for the fifth time in under four years. The country remains divided over former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fitness to serve while on trial for corruption. Polls show those numbers have barely budged.

A truck slammed into a minibus in Egypt's fertile Nile Delta region early on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, authorities said. Officials blamed speeding for the crash; local media said women and children were among those killed.

The collision in the province of Dakahlia, around 150 kilometers (93 miles) out of Cairo, on a highway linking Mansoura, a provincial capital, to the beach town of Gamasa on the Mediterranean Sea, also injured at least nine people.