ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Saturday, including the Israeli army's announcement that Palestinians can return to areas evacuated for offensive, the UN rights office condemning the Israeli minister’s call to displace people from the West Bank and the Israeli delegation leaving Doha with no progress in Gaza cease-fire talks, and

TOP STORIES

• Israeli army says Palestinians can return to areas evacuated for offensive

The Israeli army said Palestinians could return to their areas evacuated for a military offensive that lasted for over two weeks.

In a statement, the army spokesman said forces had withdrawn from several parts of the cities of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip after "completing their mission" in these areas.

The army declared new "safe" zones in the northern and central Khan Younis, as well as some areas between Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. The army claimed: "From now on, these areas will be classified as humanitarian zones."

• UN rights office condemns Israeli minister’s call to displace people from West Bank

The UN human rights office condemned an Israeli minister’s call to displace people from the West Bank, saying these statements only serve to escalate an already “very dire situation.”


“On these statements that have been made by some officials that may amount to incitement to commit human rights violations, we roundly condemn these statements,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a UN briefing in Geneva in response to Anadolu’s question.

On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for applying Gaza-style measures in the northern West Bank, including temporary evacuations of Palestinians, amid a major military operation in the area, the largest in two decades.

• Israeli delegation leaves Doha with no progress in Gaza cease-fire talks

The Israeli delegation that arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday for high-stakes negotiations on the Gaza cease-fire has left without reaching any agreements, Israeli media claimed.

According to Haaretz daily, an Israeli negotiating team made up of representatives from the intelligence agency Mossad, the security agency Shin Bet, and the military returned to Israel from Qatar.

The daily added that "there have been no breakthroughs in the talks thus far regarding the red lines set forth by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including the issues of inspections at the Netzarim route," the presence of the Israeli army on the Philadelphi route, and the manning of the Rafah crossing

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Ukraine’s ongoing attack on Russia’s Kursk region is a game changer but air defense remains crucial for Kyiv, the EU foreign policy chief said.
  
• The World Health Organization (WHO) chief said that the time agreed on for a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza is "unlikely to be enough" to achieve adequate coverage.
  
• The death toll from floods and heavy rains in western Yemen's Al-Hudaydah province has risen to 84, with 25 others injured, the Houthi group said.
  
• A Palestinian child and two medics were injured by Israeli army gunfire on Friday evening in the northern West Bank, according to reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
  
• At least 15 Israeli soldiers refused to return to join the war on Gaza, Israeli media reported.
  
• Russia and Ukraine reported ongoing clashes in the Kursk region, the Russian territory where Kyiv forces made incursions in the first week of August, with neither side providing any details on casualties or damages.
  
• The Israeli government extended the mandatory military service of 350,000 reservists for another four months until the end of 2024.
  
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to provide the Russian government “assessments” on the investigation and charges filed gainst Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, by French prosecutors in a Paris court.
  
• The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported that during its 22-day military offensive in Khan Younis, the Israeli army destroyed water lines supplying areas in the city claimed by Tel Aviv to be "humanitarian."
  
• The social media platform X is facing suspension in Brazil after failing to meet a 24-hour court deadline.
  
• A powerful Typhoon Shanshan in Japan has been weakening but disruption to train services and flights continues in the affected region.
  
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees issued a stark warning about the potential impact of a military operation in Gaza during the upcoming polio vaccination campaign.
  
• At least 20 Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
  
• The Israeli army claimed it assassinated a Hamas leader in the northern occupied West Bank.
  
• Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the regulation on the joint work of border delimitation commissions, according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
  
• Israel's Security Cabinet has approved the continued presence of the army in the Philadelphi Corridor along the border between Gaza and Egypt, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported.
  
• The bodies of 10 Palestinians were recovered after the Israeli army withdrew from areas in the southern Gaza Strip.
  
• Attorneys for Donald Trump asked a federal court to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case in order to delay sentencing and seek to toss the former president’s felony conviction for paying off adult film star Stormy Daniels and covering it up as a business expense.

SPORTS

• Manchester United confirms signing of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain

Uruguay international Manuel Ugarte signed a contract with Manchester United until June 2029, with the option to extend for a further year.

"It is an incredible feeling to join a club of this magnitude; one that is admired all around the world," Ugarte said in a statement.

"The project that the football leadership discussed with me is extremely exciting; Manchester United is an ambitious club and I am an ambitious player," he added.