Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent faces in the campus's protest movement that erupted in response to Israel's conduct of the war, was arrested Saturday, the Student Workers of Columbia union said.

Muslim nations under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), including Indonesia, face a tough challenge to realize their call for the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces in war-torn Gaza in the face of the United States’ proposal to depopulate the region.

Unlike the Trump plan, the Arab proposal aims to rebuild Gaza without displacing the territory's 2.4 million inhabitants, who endured more than 15 months of devastating conflict before a fragile ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire ended on March 1 after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, though hostilities have not resumed.

The Egyptian-crafted alternative to Trump's widely condemned takeover proposes to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority.

Linda Yuliana of Majalengka regency, West Java, was arrested in Addis Ababa after airport authorities found a bag of cocaine in her bag that her family claimed she had been given by an unidentified person she met at a hotel in the Ethiopian capital.

Foreign Minister Sugiono has arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to attend the emergency Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting on Gaza’s reconstruction slated to be held on Friday.

The holy month, during which hundreds of millions of faithful around the world observe a daytime fast, traditionally begins with the sighting of the crescent moon.

Friday's announcements marked the second time this month the Trump administration has declared an emergency to quickly approve weapons sales to Israel.

The torn-up streets surrounding the Jenin refugee camp in the territory's north were empty on Monday, an AFP journalist reported, as three Israeli Merkava tanks stationed at higher vantage points overlooked the area.

Indonesia’s senior diplomat has emphasized the need for multilateral reform on the global stage, highlighting the multilateral system’s erosion because of a growing lack of interest among countries in cooperating to maintain peace and stability.

The official Saudi Press Agency said the "fraternal consultative" meeting saw an "exchange of views on various regional and international issues, especially joint efforts in support of the Palestinian cause, and developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip".

The military has been carrying out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and camps for several weeks now targeting Palestinian militants.

The ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group has been in effect since November 27, following more than a year of hostilities, including two months of all-out war in which Israel launched ground operations.

"Iran's peaceful nuclear programme is ongoing, and has been for the last three decades, based on Iran's rights as a member in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons... definitely we will not show any weakness in this regard," he said. 

In a departure from the tentative reprimands of his predecessor, former president Joe Biden, Trump and his top diplomat have declared themselves resolutely behind Netanyahu's objectives, whether over Israel's war in Gaza or the threat from Iran.

The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 pound bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius. 

The United States State Department statement said the attack was carried out "reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters", referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

Such an attack would set back Iran's nuclear program by weeks or months while escalating tension in the region and risking a wider conflict, according to multiple intelligence reports from the end of the Biden administration and start of the Trump administration, the newspaper reported.

Amid a proposal from United States President Donald Trump to relocate the Gaza Strip’s population to nearby countries, Indonesia and Turkey have reaffirmed their support for an independent and sovereign Palestine, maintaining that the two-state solution is the only feasible path to peace in the Middle East. 

"The focus today is on Gaza today and tomorrow it will shift to the West Bank with the objective of emptying Palestine of its historical inhabitants," he said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

The exchange comes despite uproar in the region over a proposal by United States President Donald Trump to clear out the Gaza Strip of its inhabitants and for the United States to take over the Palestinian territory.

Jakarta will not take an “emotional” or “reactionary” approach to the Republican president’s statement, the Foreign Ministry asserted on Friday, amid persisting uncertainty about the plan and the bipartisan brouhaha at the White House. 

The United Nations warned against ethnic cleansing in Gaza. For Palestinians, any attempt to push them out of Gaza recalls the "Nakba", or "catastrophe" -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.

United States President Donald Trump's plan for the US to take over Gaza and permanently displace the Palestinian population from the enclave will obstruct the realization of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, jeopardizing the two-state solution that is supported by the international community, the Foreign Ministry has said.

Trump on Tuesday proposed a US takeover  of Gaza where Israel's military assault in the last 16 months has killed tens of thousands, after he earlier suggested that Palestinians in the enclave should be permanently displaced. The idea was condemned by experts and rights advocates.

"Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

Sharaa assumed power as transitional president last week, after leading a rebel campaign that ousted longtime Iran-backed leader Bashar al-Assad, whose ties with the rest of the Arab world were strained throughout the nearly 14-year Syrian war.

Ahead of his departure, Netanyahu told reporters he would discuss "victory over Hamas", contending with Iran and freeing all hostages when he meets with President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

The five were among 31 Thai nationals captured and taken hostage during the Palestinian militant group’s attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.