01/08/2026

SATURDAY | AUG 1, 2026

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Hamas agrees to deal for disarmament, Israeli pullout o Board of Peace to oversee process of storing weapons surrendered four people, including two children, on Thursday, according to health officials. that the deal “took months of very difficult negotiations”.

Mali civilians killed in ‘indiscriminate’ Russian attack DAKAR: Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps has killed eight civilians, including three children, in Mali during “unlawfully indiscriminate” air strikes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday. Established by Russia’s Defence Ministry, Africa Corps has largely taken over the mercenary Wagner Group’s activities on the continent and is backing operations by Mali’s military-led government against armed Islamist groups. An HRW probe found that an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24 dropped at least two munitions on the village of Kyrnia in the central Mopti region on June 15. One strike hit near the home of the village chief, killing his wife, two of his children and another child, while a second strike hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men, HRW said. It added that no fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) – the al Qaeda-linked group HRW says has controlled the village for the past six years – are believed to have been killed. “The strikes in Kyrnia did not appear to target specific military objectives, which would make them unlawfully indiscriminate.” Africa Corps posted aerial footage online of a strike on a village that it said it carried out on June 15, adding that it had attacked a “gathering place of terrorist groups” in the Mopti region. HRW said it was able to geolocate that footage to Kyrnia. Reuters could not independently verify the incident. Government authorities in Russia and Mali did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Malian forces have been fighting Islamist insurgents for over a decade, initially with support from France but more recently, following the government’s decision to expel French forces, with Russian backing. JNIM joined forces with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) separatist group to launch nationwide attacks in April that killed the Defence minister and hit Mali’s main airport. Russia said last month its personnel are helping Malian forces regain territory following that offensive. Both Malian soldiers and their Russian allies have been accused of rights abuses. The United Nations and Amnesty International have called for probes into possible war crimes by JNIM and the FLA. Monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data found that Mali’s military together with Russian paramilitary fighters last year killed 918 civilians, nearly four times the number killed by their main Islamist adversaries. Residents of Kyrnia told HRW that while three of the chief’s sons were JNIM fighters, they were not in Kyrnia during last month’s air strike. At least 100 JNIM fighters were in the village but were mainly at the mosque, which was not struck, residents said. HRW urged Mali’s government to investigate the strikes and hold those responsible accountable. “By handing Russian authorities a blank check, the Malian government should be aware that it too is accountable for allied forces’ atrocities,” said HRW senior Sahel researcher Ilaria Allegrozzi. – Reuters

“What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real. “Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.” Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News said yesterday Cairo is set to host a meeting “soon” of the Gaza truce mediators, which also include the United States, Qatar and Turkiye, focused on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan. Earlier, a diplomatic source said: “We continue to advance the implementation road map that offers a balanced and pragmatic path forward, with all weapons decommissioned and a phased transition of responsibilities taking place to hand over full authority to the technocratic government.” The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, said there would be “no exceptions for certain weapons or certain people. One authority, one law, one weapon”. The source said the road map would create “a process for the elimination of all tunnels, depots of weapons and any weapons production facilities”, adding that a verification mechanism would ensure compliance by each side. A Hamas source familiar with the talks said earlier the movement is “awaiting the Israeli response to the amendments we recently submitted to the mediators”. The source added that the amendments concerned two articles in the road map presented by the Board of Peace. Regarding the article concerning weapons, the Hamas source said: “Some points were removed and alternatives were proposed.” Before the announcement of the deal, an Israeli political source said the proposed agreement did not “satisfactorily” address Israeli demands. – AFP multilateral defence cooperation to protect supply chains and the global economy. The ministry said the alliance represents an international defence initiative open to all countries wishing to join and aims to protect freedom of navigation and global trade, and enhance regional and international security and stability in the face of threats targeting international maritime routes. “The door remains open for other countries to accede to the coalition’s charter after completing their national procedures.” The move comes amid escalating threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea after the Houthi group declared what it called a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20. – Bernama-Anadolu

The Board of Peace said Hamas has “agreed to a detailed road map for implementing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire”. “Our focus now turns to implementation,” the organisation wrote, adding that the NCAG would “soon begin a phased transition towards full authority”. Trump, in an earlier social media post, said once Hamas’s disarmament is complete, “Israeli forces will withdraw and the International Stabilisation Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbours”. Yesterday, Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov emphasised

GAZA: Hamas said yesterday it agreed to a deal to end the war with Israel that includes provisions addressing its weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, calling it a critical step towards a new Palestinian government in Gaza. Hamas officials said a committee established by Trump’s Board of Peace to govern Gaza would oversee the process of storing the Islamist movement’s weapons. The group said it expects mediators and the Board of Peace

to ensure Israel complies with the deal’s terms, which include Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas negotiating team member Ghazi Hamad said the movement is making “concessions for the sake of our people in the Gaza Strip, to save them from killing and displacement”. “Israel will not intervene in the issue of disarmament. The National Committee is the body that will undertake this task,” he said, referring to the National Committee for Administration of Gaza (NCAG). Despite the October ceasefire, violence has continued in Gaza, with Israeli strikes killing at least

A Palestinian child lying on a damaged mattress at the site of Wednesday’s Israeli strike on a house whose residents were pre-warned by the Israeli military to evacuate in Gaza City. – REUTERSPIC Multinational maritime defence coalition established

ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries announced on Thursday the creation of a multinational maritime defence coalition aimed at safeguarding freedom of navigation, international trade and energy supply routes in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Anadolu Ajansi reported. The announcement came in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of an international meeting hosted by by Riyadh, where chiefs of staff and representatives from 43 countries, as well as a delegation from the European Union, discussed ways of enhancing the security of international maritime routes and countering threats to global navigation and trade. The founding states said

cooperation” aimed at enhancing maritime security, protecting freedom of navigation, securing international trade and energy supply routes, and safeguarding maritime interests in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in accordance with international law, United Nations conventions and internationally recognised norms. It said participating states would continue completing their domestic procedures necessary for formally acceding to the coalition’s charter. The Saudi Defence Ministry said Thursday’s meeting addressed the growing threats to maritime security, including the security of commercial vessels, oil tankers and maritime infrastructure. It explored ways to strengthen

participation in the coalition’s activities would remain a sovereign decision for each member state, stressing that the alliance is “purely defensive in nature, does not target any state, alliance or international organisation, and will conduct all its activities in full compliance with international law while respecting state sovereignty and protecting freedom of navigation”. The statement also designated Saudi Arabia as the coalition’s founding and leading state and permanent headquarters, with the Joint Operations Coordination Centre, the Joint Maritime Operations Centre and the General Secretariat to be based in the kingdom. The joint statement said the coalition was established as a “framework for maritime defence