Brett McGurk

Israel launched air strikes Thursday on southern Gaza's Rafah after threatening to send troops into the city, where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought shelter from around the territory.

Global powers trying to navigate a way to end the Israel-Hamas war have so far come up short, but a U.S. envoy was expected in Israel on Thursday to try to secure a truce deal.

Israel and Hamas have moved closer to reaching a 30-day truce in the Gaza Strip, during which Israeli hostages and Palestinians could be released from Israeli prisons, Reuters reported.

However, the Israeli offensive in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern part of the enclave continues.

In a seismic development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphatically rejected the terms presented by Hamas for ending the ongoing conflict, denouncing them as tantamount to his country "surrendering." The outspoken dismissal comes against the backdrop of thousands rallying in Tel Aviv, demanding a change of leadership and urging a negotiated deal for the release of host

Two Saudi officials told The Associated Press the Saudi energy minister informed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, of the kingdom's commitment to the group's current roadmap of cautious monthly  increases. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

Journalist Amberin Zaman analyzes Turkey's latest attempts at a diplomatic "reset" with the United States, and discusses what is in store for the US-Turkey relationship as the new Biden administration takes over. We also take a look at Syria, and whether the appointment of Brett McGurk to the National Security Council will cause more friction in US-Turkish relations.

At a working dinner of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday, part of a NATO summit meeting there, Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu highlighted the importance of NATO continuing its support for its eastern partners - Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.

The United States and Western allies have pressed Iraqi Kurdish leaders to ditch a "very risky" independence vote, presenting an alternative plan in an attempt to avoid conflict between the oil rich region and central government in Baghdad.

The U.S.'s ongoing support for the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) dominated Pentagon chief Jim Mattis's talks in Ankara on Aug. 23, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan complaining about Washington's policy, a Turkish official has told the Hürriyet Daily News. 

About 2,000 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants are estimated to remain in the Syrian city of Raqqa, fighting for their survival in the face of an offensive by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a senior U.S. official said on Aug. 4.

It is not the first time U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition To Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Brett McGurk raised eyebrows in Turkey.